Chance encounter
by KSD17
Summary: An accident leads to Wade needing medical attention in New York.
1. Chapter 1

Wade exited the subway station and looked up. He had never seen so many tall buildings in his life. Not that that meant anything seeing as he had never gone further than New Orleans but this was unreal. He was shoved by someone and his duffle bag fell to the ground.

"Move!" the stranger yelled and Wade bent down to pick up his bag only to be shoved again by someone else. He stumbled but caught himself from falling. He picked up his bag and shrugged it onto his shoulder and looked down at the crumpled paper he was holding. He had no idea which direction to go now. He had already got onto the wrong train twice and now he had to try navigating through thousands of people.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" he said, approaching a young woman a few years older than him, "I was wonderin' if you could tell me how to get to this address?" he asked, holding out the piece of paper. The woman looked him up and down and walked away.

He frowned but decided it wasn't worth asking anyone else. He started off in one direction, hoping to find the address he'd been given. George had said he had to turn left when he left the subway but when he got off the train, there were four exits and it confused him even more. He kept getting bumped into and people were cursing at him for walking too slowly. While he was walking he looked up at all the skyscrapers and it was making him feel dizzy. He heard tires squealing and then everything went black.

"31 year old male, broken femur. Surgery is depending on when the patient is stable," a voice said. Wade's eyes were closed.

"Why are we not operating immediately?" another voice asked.

"Because the bone did…" the first voice started.

"The bone did not break the skin so we will wait for the patient to be stable until we operate as there is no dire need at this moment," another voice interrupted.

"Very good Doctor Hart. What treatment do we proceed with in the mean time?" the second voice asked.

"We have placed his leg in skeletal traction which will keep his bones aligned until the surgery."

"Good. You will be the resident on this case, Dr Hart."

After a while, he opened his eyes and saw a petite brunette girl wearing a white lab coat at the foot of his bed looking at his chart.

"You the nurse or is this a really good dream?" he asked groggily. She looked up from the chart.

"Alright cowboy, I think you've had enough morphine."

"What happened?" he asked, rubbing his eyes, trying to adjust to the bright lights.

"You broke your femur," she said.

"Yeah, I got that part earlier, heard a whole bunch of voices. But how?"

"Oh… right. You were hit by a cab."

"What? How?"

"Well, from what I heard, you just kinda walked into the street, didn't stop or anything." He felt his cheeks turn red.

"Oh… I guess I was distracted, all the buildin's and people. Not used to it. Not from around here."

"You don't say. I would never have been able to tell from the accent," she said teasingly. He smirked at her.

"But seriously, you my nurse?" She rolled her eyes.

"No, I'm your doctor. Well, I'm technically a resident so not exactly but basically."

"You're a doctor? I ain' buyin' that."

"Hey! I'll have you know, I graduated the top of my class at Johns Hopkins," she scoffed, putting her hands on her hips.

"Ok, ok I believe you. I'm Wade, by the way." He stretched out his hand.

"Dr Hart," she replied, shaking his hand gently.

"Ah come on Doc, I told you my first name!" She laughed.

"I already knew your first name, it's right here on your chart. Along with everything else about you."

"Everythin'?" he said, with a wink. She laughed again and rolled her eyes.

"See you later, Wade. If you need anything MEDICAL, just have a nurse page me." She walked out of the room.

"You seriously not gonna tell me your first name?" he called after her. She shook her head but didn't turn around.

An hour later, he was bored. He couldn't move because his leg was put up and he was pretty sure the morphine was starting to wear off. Just then Dr Hart walked into the room again.

"Back again so soon? Can' get enough of me, can ya?" he asked with a smile.

"My shift just ended, came to check in before I head home for the night."

"Oh," he said, not bothering to hide his disappointment.

"I can… uh… stay for a while if you want me to?"

"Nah, sure you're sick of this place. I've only been awake for an hour and I'm already sick of it so I can' imagine how you mus' be feelin'."

"I actually like it here. But I get why you wouldn't," she said with a laugh, pulling up a chair.

"So what brings you to New York?"

"A buddy of mine started a job as a lawyer here a couple months ago. He's been wantin' me to come visit for a while so here I am. I should probably call him, come to think of it."

"You can give his number to a nurse. They'll call for you. So you're from where again? Blue something or other?"

"Bluebell, Alabama. Probably the smallest town you'll ever come across but its home."

"Tell me more about it," she said.

"Well, there is an event for everythin', and I mean everythin'. We had an event last month just cause Burt Reynolds found a mate."

"Burt Reynolds?"

"He's the mayor's pet gator." She burst out laughing. "We don' celebrate Thanksgivin' in the usual way, we have a fish fry and everyone dresses as pirates. We call it Planksgivin'. Everyone knows everyone and the gossip travels faster than one of them fancy fast planes. We have one road comin' into town and one police officer cause there ain' ever any crime. We sometimes get heat waves that turn the whole town into a bunch of lunatics and on the rare occasion of snow, the same thin' happens."

"Wow, that sounds so cute!"

"Yeah, it's definitely somethin' else," he said with a smile. He shifted slightly and moaned softly in pain.

"Is the morphine wearing off?" she asked, standing up quickly.

"Yeah, I think so." She scribbled in his chart and injected something into his IV.

"That should kick in in a few minutes," she said sitting back down.

"So how long am I gonna be stuck like this, Doc?" he asked, gesturing to his leg.

"Uh… well a broken femur can take anywhere between 4 to 6 months to heal. And that's after the surgery which you'll probably be having in a few days."

"MONTHS? Are you kiddin'?" She shook her head. He threw his head back onto the pillow and sighed.

"It's a very serious break. I'm sorry."

"So I'm gonna be here for almost half a year?" he gulped.

"No, you'll leave the hospital in a few weeks, depending on how well the surgery and your physical therapy goes." He laughed bitterly and rubbed his mouth.

"This sucks!"

"Yeah, it does," she said sympathetically. "I'll be your doctor though so I'll try my best to make your stay here pleasant."

"You make it sound like I'm goin' on a cruise," he said laughing.

"Dr Zoe Hart, Cruise Director. Nice ring to it, I think," she giggled.

"So your first name is Zoe, huh?" She nodded.

"Can I call you that? Or do I have to call you Dr Hart?" he asked shyly.

"Um… when my attendant or any other doctor is around, its Dr Hart but when I'm here, just me, you can call me Zoe." She smiled at him and he returned it with a wide grin.

"You gonna be spendin' a lot of time with me alone then?" he winked.

"Uh… no, you know… just medical stuff, checking on my patient, doing my job," she said, fiddling with her hands.

"Oh… ok well then when are you working again?"

"Tomorrow morning." He smiled widely but tried to contain it before she noticed. He saw her cheeks flush slightly, indicating she had seen him smile a bit too broadly.

"Ok, well I'll keep that in mind," he said, coolly.

"I better get going, I'm sure your morphine is kicking in and you should get some rest." He nodded and smiled at her.

"Night Zoe. Thanks for keeping me company, even if it is your job and all."

"Night Wade. Remember, if there is anything you need, page a nurse and she'll help you out. Sleep well," she said, getting up and leaving the room, glancing back at him once more. He was watching her leave. He gave her a small smile and when she was out of view, lay back and drifted off to sleep.

**Author's note: This is my new story, the other one Boy Next Door will still continue with regular updates. Please review and let me know if you like it, if I should continue etc etc. I am not a doctor so a lot of this stuff is based on my skills as a googler and it's fan fiction so it's not going to be super realistic with time wise and shifts and stuff. Don't hate my for it, I'll try my best. **

**Thanks to Jessers113 for all her input!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: Thanks for all the reviews. faves and follows! Your feedback is always appreciated! Hope you enjoy this chapter. Let me know your thoughts :)**

"Ah, what the hell!" Wade said, shutting his eyes as tight as possible to block out the sudden bright light.

"Sorry, Mr Kinsella but we are here to do rounds. Come on in, everybody. Dr Hart, present please." Wade opened his eyes, squinting into the light. Zoe stepped forward and picked up his chart.

"Wade Kinsella, 31. Brought in yesterday with a broken femur. Patient is stable and surgery has been scheduled for tomorrow morning."

"Good, how do we proceed until the surgery?"

"His leg is still in skeletal traction and will remain that way until the surgery. Morphine is being administered every few hours to keep the pain at bay. Fasting is required from this evening until after the surgery."

"Very good. Stay behind and inform Mr Kinsella here of the risks of the surgery." The rest of the doctors left his room leaving Zoe looking at his chart.

"Sorry for waking you like that," she said when everyone had left.

"It's ok, guess I better get used to it, huh?"

"Yeah, unfortunately it's going to be like this for the next couple of mornings."

"So there are risks to this surgery?" he asked after a moment's silence.

"Yeah, with any surgery. Obviously there is a risk of death." His eyes widened. "Sorry, I've been told I need to work on my bedside manner. It's not a big risk but there is always that risk with surgery. The main risk is that sometimes, the surgery leaves you with a slightly shorter leg or not being able to straighten your leg fully."

"It's gonna leave me gimpy?" he asked, panicked. She laughed but stopped when she saw he was serious.

"When will I be able to get back to work?"

"Well, that depends, what do you do?"

"I'm a bartender."

"Mmm that might be a problem; you won't be able to stand for long periods of time during your recovery, which as you heard yesterday, could take up to 6 months."

He closed his eyes and sighed. She walked over to the bed and took his hand in hers and sat down. She squeezed his hand and he opened his eyes.

"It'll be ok, we'll work something out," she said, just louder than a whisper. He rubbed his thumb across the top of her hand and gave her a grateful smile.

"Thanks Zoe," he said softly. Suddenly realizing how intimate the situation felt, she jumped up and went back to the chart.

"No problem, I mean as your doctor, I should help you with stuff like that." He nodded, a smirk forming on his face. He was about to say something when someone burst through the door.

"Wade! Are you ok? The hospital just called me. How did you get run over?" George said. "Oh hi," he said smiling at Zoe, who he had just noticed.

"Hi," she replied casually before turning to Wade. "I'll check on you later." She smiled at him then turned to leave. Both George and Wade watched her walk away.

"Hot nurse, dude!" George said once he was sure she was out of earshot.

"Doctor," Wade corrected.

"No way! Smart and sexy? Just my type!"

"I saw her first!"

"She's your doctor, you can't date her. Or in your case sleep with her."

"Real nice, but she's only my doctor until I walk out of those doors. Then she's fair game."

"Yeah, yeah. So, how on earth did you get run over?"

"I was tryna find your place and all the people and the buildin's were overwhelmin' and I guess I just wasn' payin' attention."

"Sure it wasn't some girl that got your attention?"

"It wasn' a girl," Wade responded shortly, rolling his eyes. George cleared his throat.

"So how long you gotta be in here?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Ain' sure, havin' surgery tomorrow."

"Surgery? Wow, I didn't realize it was that serious. How long till you're healed?"

"Not sure, Zoe… uh, I mean Dr Hart said full recovery is between 4 to 6 months."

"Yikes."

"Yup, that bout covers it."

"Well, I'll try be here as much as possible until you get out but with work and everything, it might be difficult."

"Don' worry about it. At least I got a hot doctor lookin' after me!" George chuckled.

"Yeah, yeah. I better get going, I don't wanna be late for work. I'll come by when I can."

Before rounds the next morning, Zoe walked into Wade's room, leaving the light off. She gently shook his shoulder.

"Wade," she whispered. He moved slightly and moaned but didn't open his eyes.

"Wade," she said a bit louder. Again, he didn't open his eyes.

"Wakey wakey," she said, leaning into his ear. He opened his eyes and turned towards her. Their noses were almost touching. She moved away slightly and he rubbed his eyes.

"Hey Doc," he said groggily.

"Morning," she said cheerily. "I thought I'd wake you before everyone comes stomping in here just turning on the light."

"Much appreciated. What time is it?"

"5 am," she said as she switched the light on.

"And you're so cheery because?" he asked, rubbing his eyes again.

"Partly because I'm used to it but also because I've had like 3 cups of coffee." He laughed lightly.

"So how are you feeling for your surgery?"

"Fine," he said without much conviction.

"Wade…" she stated knowingly.

"I'm scared."

"We are very good at what we do," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder, giving it a light squeeze.

"I don' doubt you are Doc. But I don' wanna be a gimp." She laughed like she had the day before but didn't stop when he gave her the same look.

"You are not going to be a gimp! You'll be the same ol' equal leg length Wade! I promise! I better get going, rounds start soon. I'll see you in a bit and then I'll see you in pre-op before your surgery." She squeezed his shoulder once more and left his room.

Zoe was checking Wade's vitals when she heard him mumble, obviously waking up. She adjusted the bed so he was sitting up slightly.

"Well hey there Cowboy. You did great!" she said, meeting his gaze. He gave her a lopsided grin, blinking a few times.

"Water," he said, his voice scratchy. She filled a glass and put a straw in it. She held it up for him and put the straw to his lips. When he was done, he leaned his head back onto his pillow.

"So everything went really well and I'm happy to report that you are not going to be a gimp as you so eloquently put it earlier."

"I'm so glad you're my doc, Doc," he mumbled. She smiled at him and went to put the glass down. He reached for her hand before she could move away.

"You're really hot."

"Whatever you say Wade," she said with a chuckle.

"No, you are. Like really. We should go out later, when you get off work."

"How's our patient doing?" a nurse said walking into the room. Zoe tried to pull her hand away from Wade but he wouldn't let go.

"A little on the affectionate side but he's fine," she replied with a laugh.

"Isn' my doc the best doc ever? She's so pretty," Wade said wistfully, turning to the nurse with a goofy grin on his face.

"She sure is, you are one lucky patient," the nurse smiled at him before turning to Zoe. "Anesthetic still wearing off I see?"

"Yup, I wish his friend was here to record this!" The nurse laughed and walked out the room.

"I have to go now but I'll be back in a while," Zoe said to Wade. He pouted but then lit up.

"You'll be back for our date?"

"Sure," she said amused before leaving the room.

Wade fell asleep soon after and when he woke up, he was back in his room. Zoe walked in to his room a while after he woke up but she was out of her scrubs and dressed to go home.

"You done workin' already?" he asked as she picked up his chart to glance over it.

"Yeah, you slept all day but I'm here for our date."

"Our… what?" Wade spluttered.

"Yeah, you said you were going to take me out when I got off work," Zoe said, her voice thick with amusement. Wade's eyes widened and Zoe burst out laughing.

"Relax, it happens all the time!"

"What? Gettin' asked out by patients?"

"Patients who have just come out of surgery, yeah. Anesthetic makes people say the craziest things. You won't believe some of the things I've heard!"

"Oh yeah, like what?" he asked.

"Once, a guy swore he saw a tiny monkey flying a helicopter. Just last month a girl woke up believing she was Taylor Swift and when she found out she wasn't she sobbed for like, two hours."

"Oh wow, so I'm not the worst then?"

"Not by a long shot!"

"So what else did I say?" he asked worriedly.

"Oh nothing really, just asked me out and for water," she said casually.

"I don' believe you," he said eyeing her.

"Well you'll never know for sure," she said, sticking her tongue out at him.

"I'll get it out of you one day!" he said, winking at her. She rolled her eyes playfully.

"Good night, Wade! Get some rest."

Every day for the next week, Zoe would get to work about half an hour early and wake Wade before rounds so he wouldn't be woken abruptly. George would come visit during his lunch hour and try get Zoe's attention but she would always brush him off and eventually stopped coming to check on Wade when George was there. When she was done with work, she would hang out in his room for a while before heading home.

"Good news, Kinsella!" she said, walking into his room.

"What, Hart?" She gave him a look and he shrugged, "You started it!"

"You're busting out of here!" she said with a smile.

"I can go home?" he asked excitedly.

"Oh… well no. But you get to move from the surgical floor to the physical therapy ward." Wade's face fell.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to get you so excited."

"When can I go home?"

"Well the thing is, you need 24 hour care while you still can't walk so the PT ward is your only option right now. But if you work hard, you can get out of here in a few weeks."

"A few weeks?" he asked sadly. Zoe walked across the room and shut the door then made her way back to him and sat on the bed. She placed her hand on his uninjured leg and he covered her hand with his. They sat there quietly for a while, neither moving.

"I better get your transfer papers ready. The good news is you will have a much homier room. They are geared for more of a long term stay than the surgical rooms," Zoe said after a while, staying seated.

"So this means you won' be doin' my rounds anymore? You're not gonna be my doctor?" She shook her head slightly.

"No, you are finally rid of me."

"Well, I can't say I'm too happy about that. Who's gonna wake me in the mornin' before everyone comes in and turns the lights on?"

"Luckily for you, they don't round quite like we do. They'll come in much later and probably a lot more discretely."

"Oh well in that case, I guess I owe you a thank you before I say goodbye," he said softly.

"I'll still be at the hospital every day, I can visit every now and then," Zoe whispered.

"I'd like that a lot Doc." They smiled at each other. After a few minutes, Zoe went to get Wade's transfer papers ready. Two hours later, a porter came to move Wade from the surgical floor. After he was wheeled out of the room, Zoe leaned back against the nurse's station counter and swallowed hard, trying to get rid of the lump in her throat.

"You ok, Dr Hart?" a nurse asked, bringing her back to reality.

"Yeah, sorry. Just tired. You know, crazy shifts and all."

"I understand. I'm sad to see Wade go; he was such a charmer with all the nurses, always making us laugh. And that accent! Definitely going to feel different with him not here."

"Yeah… yeah, it really is," Zoe replied with a sad smile.


	3. Chapter 3

Over the next few days, Wade was doing physical therapy every day. He knew it was going to be a slow process and all he had managed was to stand for a few seconds. The therapists encouraged him to keep working on his upper body strength to maintain his overall fitness. He was working with a therapist for about an hour a day, lifting light weights. Everyone in the ward was very friendly but he missed seeing Zoe every day. Every time someone walked into his room around the time she would usually end her shift, he would find himself feeling hopeful only to be left disappointed that it wasn't her.

Zoe had had a crazy couple of days. She assisted on 6 surgeries in 5 days and they were all well over 5 hours each. Every night she had gotten off work close to midnight and was back at work at 5am the next morning. Finally, she had a day off. She woke up at 7 that morning, put make up on, did her hair and took her time picking out an outfit. Once she was ready, she made her way to the hospital.

"Never pegged you as the reading type," she said, leaning against the door frame. Wade looked up from his book and smiled.

"Hey there Doc. Not much else to do here, TV's broken," he replied, still smiling. He put his book down and she walked into his room.

"You look different," he said.

"Oh… Yeah," she said self consciously. She smoothed her hands over her shorts before playing with her hair.

"I like it, you look good. Not that you don' always look good but you know," he rambled.

"Thanks. Sorry I haven't been by, this week has been crazy! I have surgery literally coming out of my ears!" He chuckled and she smiled at him. "Today is my first day off in weeks!"

"And you're spendin' it in the hospital?"

"I'm not spending it in the hospital; I'm spending it with you." His cheeks flushed and she smiled shyly. She pulled up a chair and sat next to his bed.

"So how's the PT going?"

"Slow. I've only been able to stand for a few seconds but they got me workin' out my upper body to keep my fitness up or somethin'." She nodded in understanding.

"How's your pain?"

"On and off. They've been doin' all these weird things to help though."

"Applying heat and cold?"

"Yeah."

"Have they been massaging your leg? Sometimes the pain is caused by lack of circulation because you aren't using it."

"Uh… no they haven' tried that one yet."

"You have any pain now?" He nodded. "Do you mind if I try?"

"Uh… I guess." She stood up and moved the blanket so that his leg was uncovered. She placed her hands on his ankle and heard him draw in a sharp breath, feeling a jolt of electricity course through his veins from her touch.

"Sorry, did I hurt you?" she whispered. He nodded and she gave him an apologetic smile. She rubbed small circles on his ankle, making her way up his leg slowly. He was watching her intently the whole time. She moved just above his knee and again he audibly drew in a breath when she put a little more pressure. She lifted her hands off his leg quickly.

"Was that painful?"

"This time, yes."

"I'm sorry." She looked down at his leg and then up at him. "Wait, this time? What was the last time then?"

"Uh… I…" He swallowed.

"Good morning Mr Kinsella," a nurse holding a food tray said entering the room. Wade quickly pulled the blanket back over his leg.

"Mornin' Darla."

"Oh is this your girlfriend? You two sure make a cute couple!" she said cheerfully.

"No, she was my doctor."

"No, we're just friends." They said at the same time. They looked at each other and looked away quickly.

"Uh, alright." She put his food down on the portable table and placed it over his lap. She reminded him to fill in the meal card for his lunch and dinner and left the room. After a few moments of silence, Wade spoke.

"Fruit cup?" he offered.

"I love these!" she said taking it from him and sitting back in the chair.

Zoe spent the rest of the day in Wade's room. They played games, chatted and he shared his lunch with her.

"I better get going," Zoe said a few minutes before dinner was scheduled to be served.

"What? Not stayin' for dinner? And here I thought you liked hospital food."

"I do," she laughed, "but I really should go. Besides, I don't think the nurses are too impressed with me hanging around here all day."

"They're fine. I appreciate you comin' by Doc. I had a really good day."

"I did too! It was really fun," she said smiling broadly. "I'll come see you tomorrow after my shift ends."

"You don' gotta do that, Doc. I know you're busy."

"Oh… well if you don't want me to…" she trailed off.

"No, no I do! But I don' want you to feel like you HAVE to."

"I want to!" He blushed. "I'll see you tomorrow." She leaned over and kissed his cheek before leaving the room. She put her hand to her lips as she left, smiling to herself. He still had his hand on the spot where she kissed him with a goofy grin on his face when the nurse brought in his dinner.

For the next week, every night after Zoe finished her shift, she would go spend time with Wade. He was making small progress in his physical therapy and spent more time out of bed.

"Hey Sarah," Zoe greeted as she walked past the nurses' station towards Wade's room.

"Hi Zoe," the nurse greeted back. Zoe had gotten to know the nurses over the past week.

"How's he doing?"

"Good, he has a pretty blonde visitor. Perked up when he saw her." Zoe shifted uncomfortably.

"Oh. Um, you know, I'll just come back tomorrow then. Don't want to disturb him. See you tomorrow, Sarah." Sarah frowned for a second and said goodbye as Zoe rushed off.

The next day, Zoe went to visit him during her lunch break.

"Hey," she said walking in. He looked at her and then looked back at the TV, which was now fixed.

"Why are you ignoring me?" she asked sitting on his bed.

"Where were you yesterday?"

"I didn't want to disturb you and your girlfriend." He looked at her like she had 2 heads and burst out laughing.

"That was not my girlfriend! If it was, I would have needed brain surgery rather than leg surgery!"

"Oh," Zoe said, embarrassed. "So who was she?"

"George's girlfriend. Or ex girlfriend. I ain' sure what they are these days." She nodded.

"Were you jealous?" he asked with a wink.

"What? Me? No!" she said unconvincingly.

"You sure?" He was eyeing her suspiciously. She looked down at her scrubs.

"These people in this city are so rude! I have no idea how anyone could ever want to live here. I got pushed like 6 times and this dirty old man said horrible things to me on the subway. I just can't wait until George decides to… Oh. Hello," a blonde said entering the room. Zoe breathed a sigh of relief that she had escaped Wade's inquisition.

"You must be Zoe?" the blonde said. Zoe looked at Wade raising her eyebrow and it was his turn to look away.

"Yeah, that's me," Zoe said with a smile, sticking out her hand.

"I'm Lemon," the blonde said taking her hand. Zoe withheld a laugh hearing her name, shaking her hand quickly. "I've heard a lot about you. All I heard yesterday was bla bla bla Zoe, bla bla bla Zoe, bla bla bla Zoe Zoe Zoe Zoe." Wade shot her a glare and Zoe turned to him with an amused look on her face.

"Lemon here is very sick. She has uh… leprosy… of the uh… brain," Wade said.

"Wade Kinsella, you bite your tongue!"

"Why don' you take your own advice Breeland?"

"Ok ok, you two. Do I have to call the principal?" Zoe interrupted. They were both quiet. "I better get going. It was nice meeting you Lemon." She got off the bed. "I'll come by after my shift tonight." She leaned down to kiss him on the cheek but caught herself in time and straightened quickly and left the room hurriedly.

Lemon gave Wade a knowing look. "That girl likes you," she stated matter of factly. He rolled his eyes and avoided her questions for the rest of her visit.


	4. Chapter 4

"You're standing!" Zoe said, running into Wade's room when she saw that he was standing next to his bed.

"Yup, I'm a big boy!" he said with a smile.

"Where's the nurse or doctor that's helping you?"

"Nowhere, I did this all by myself."

"Oh Wade, that's great!" She walked up to him.

"You're tall," she stated. He gave a small laugh and nodded.

"I'm actually average height but you're pretty tiny so I must look like a giant to you!" She smacked his arm lightly.

"Come here," he said and she took a step closer to him. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a hug. She hesitated briefly then wrapped her arms around his waist. She rested her head on his chest and after a minute they pulled away, arms still wrapped around each other.

"Hi," she whispered.

"Hey," he whispered back with a smirk.

"Can you help me back into the bed, can't manage that jus' yet," he said after a while of staring into her eyes. She removed her arms from his waist and helped him sit back down.

"So what did you bring tonight?" he asked once he was comfortable.

"Black and white cookies," she said with a smile, opening a box. She handed him one.

"I feel like they kind of phoned it in to the namin' process."

"They are my favourite things in the whole world!" He popped a piece into his mouth and after swallowing, he smiled.

"They're good. You know Doc, I'm gettin' the full New York experience without ever havin' to leave my bed! Definitely my kinda trip!"

"The broken leg and extended hospital stay is your kind of trip?"

"Well no, but the company is," he responded with a wink and she blushed.

"So now that I've had bagels, hot dogs from a street vendor, cheese cake and these things, what else is there for you to bring?"

"Oh just you wait! There is so much more! And when you finally get out of here, we can go to my favourite restaurant, Per Se. It's amazing!"

"Like a date?" Zoe opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out. Instead, she turned red.

"Whatever it is, it sounds great," he said with a smirk, letting her off the hook.

XXX

"Urgh!" Zoe moaned slumping down onto Wade's bed. He came out of the bathroom, moving slowly.

"What?" he asked, hobbling towards her. She was lying down with her head on his pillow.

"My mother is driving me insane!"

"What'd she do this time?"

"She keeps trying to force me on these blind dates with these 'eligible bachelors'." Wade chewed on his bottom lip, finally reaching his bed. He sat down slowly.

"And she's so sneaky about it! Tells me to meet her for lunch and when I get there, there's some guy waiting instead!" Wade put his legs up on the bed, sitting up while she was lying down. She shifted so there was more space for him.

"Meet anyone you like so far?" he said trying to sound casual.

"Ew no! One guy runs a preschool for achievement orientated toddlers. Can you believe that? Told me if I was even thinking about having kids, I should put my name on the list!" Wade laughed whole heartedly, leaning back. Their heads were next to each other and they were staring at the ceiling.

"Better safe than sorry!" he said cheekily.

"I will never send my kid to a school like that!" she insisted.

"Ok ok, jus' teasin'"

"Mmhmm sure."

"So your walking has improved a ton!" she said after a while.

"Yeah, doctors said I can go home next week," he responded.

"Which home?" she asked quietly.

"The only one I got, Doc."

"But you still need a lot of PT."

"Yeah, I'm gonna do the whole outpatient thing."

"How are you going to do that in Bluebell? You can't drive. You should stay here, with George."

"Doc…" he sighed.

"As your surgeon, I'm just looking out for your best interests. You've come so far over the past 2 months; you don't want to lose all that progress."

"Remember my friend Lavon?"

"Yeah, the one whose land you stay on?"

"Yes. He's gonna drive me weekly to my appointments, he already agreed."

"Oh well… then… that's great," she said sitting up. He put his hand on her shoulder but she shrugged him off.

"I have to go," she said, climbing off the bed.

"Zoe," Wade called as she headed towards the door. She turned and looked at him, eyes wide.

"Will I see you tomorrow?" he asked.

"Of course, why wouldn't you? Night Wade," she said casually and left.

XXX

"Dr Hart?" Zoe heard a voice say. She looked up and saw the entire operating room staring at her.

"Yes?" she responded, her voice small. She cleared her throat.

"Is there a reason you are staring at the clock and not answering my question?" her attendant asked.

"Sorry sir. What was the question again?"

"I asked if you wanted to close Mrs. Evans?" She looked up at the clock and then back at the surgeon.

"Um…" Zoe said, taking a step forward.

"Get out of my OR."

"Excuse me?"

"You have been staring at that clock the entire time and clearly want to be somewhere else. I don't need someone who isn't paying attention to screw up the final stages of this surgery. Now go." Zoe looked around, debating whether or not she should protest but decided against it and left. While she was scrubbing out, one of her fellow residents entered the room.

"What was that back there?" Jason asked.

"I was meant to be off work at 11:30. It's now 12:15."

"Who are you and what have you done with Zoe Hart?"

"I am still the same Zoe."

"You're joking right? The past few months, you've been running out of here the second your shift ends and now you're walking out on the opportunity to be part of a rare surgery. That is not you! Everyone used to have to claw patients' files out of your hands and now you just give them away. You used to hang around on your days off trying to steal surgeries and no one has seen you lurking around here in ages. What is going on?"

"Nothing! I just have somewhere I have to be."

"The Zoe Hart I know would never leave a surgery just cause she had somewhere to be. Come hell or high water, you would do whatever it takes to be part of it. Hell, you even missed your own grandfather's funeral!"

"Can you not do this right now? I'm already late," Zoe said, pushing passed him. She made her way to the PT ward and walked into Wade's room. He was sitting in a wheel chair, dressed in normal clothes. George was standing behind him.

"Sorry I'm late," she said, out of breath. Wade's face lit up when he saw her.

"Didn' think you were gonna come, Doc. Thought you said you had the rest of the day off, did that change?" he said, gesturing to her scrubs.

"I was in surgery. I didn't have time to change but I'm done for the day."

"You still comin' back with us to the apartment?"

"Can you wait another 10 minutes before leaving? I wanna grab my stuff and change quick."

"I have to be back at work at 1," George started.

"We'll wait," Wade said, shooting a glare at George. Zoe nodded and ran out the room to get ready.

"Man, you've got it bad!" George said.

"Shut up," Wade mumbled.

"I've never seen you like this over anyone!"

"We're just friends," Wade replied without any conviction.

"Yeah sure you are. You telling me you don't want more? You've spent every day with her for the past 2 months."

"It doesn' matter what I want, she lives here and I live in Bluebell. We are worlds apart."

"Lemon and I are trying to make it work."

"And how's that going for you Tucker? You on again this week or off? I can't keep up," he spat. George scowled at him.

"She's the firs' girl I could see myself you know… settlin' down with and now I'll never get that chance. Not that it matters, she probably jus' sees me as a friend."

"Wade, there is no way that girl out there sees you as just a friend. Just see how these next couple of days go and take it from there." Wade nodded and George gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

"I'm back!" Zoe said, running into the room. She had one shoe in her hand and her clothes were hanging out of her unzipped bag.

"Where's the fire?" Wade asked laughing.

"Didn't want to leave you waiting. Besides, George has to be back at work in like 25 minutes,' she said, putting her shoe on.

"Ok, well let's get outta here! 2 months is long enough, I don' need another minute of this place!" Zoe laughed and called the doctor to wheel him out of the hospital.

"This is a really nice place, George," Zoe said as they entered his apartment.

"Damn Tucker! If I knew this place was so decked out, I woulda come sooner!" Wade said, looking at the hundreds of video games on display.

"Well, you could have been here 2 months earlier but you decided to get hit by a cab!" George said with a laugh. Zoe laughed lightly and Wade mumbled for him to shut up. George showed them around and rushed off to get back to work. They spent the rest of the afternoon playing video games and eventually at around 5:30, Zoe reluctantly decided it was time to go home.

"So…" she started, standing by the door. "I hope your therapy goes well in Bluebell, Wade." She gave him a sad smile, not quite meeting his gaze.

"This isn' goodbye, you know that right?" Wade asked. "I'm only leavin' New York in a couple of days."

"I know… It feels like goodbye though," she responded, feeling a fresh wave of sadness wash over her. She bit the inside of her cheek, willing herself not to cry. He walked forward and hugged her tightly.

"I'll see you tomorrow right?" he whispered into her hair. She clung to his shirt and nodded. She knew she was being stupid for acting like this but the reality of the situation just hit her. He was going back to Bluebell in a few days and she would never see him again. She pulled away and he opened the door for her.

"Per Se," he shouted as she walked down the hallway.

"What?" she asked confused, turning to him.

"You said we'd go there when I got out."

"I did," she agreed, smiling at him.

"Would you like to go with me tonight?" he asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"I'd love to," she beamed at him and walked back towards the apartment.

"Ok so go home then."

"What?" she spluttered.

"You have to go home so I can pick you up," he stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Why? I'm already here."

"Because that's what you do on a date."

"A date?" she asked with a hopeful smile.

"Yes! Now go on girl, I'll see you at 7:15." She turned to walk away and he stood against the door frame, watching her go. She turned and ran back to him.

"And now?" he asked as she approached him.

"You don't know where I live!" He blushed at the realization. She pulled out a pen and an old receipt from her purse, scribbled on the back and handed it to him.

"Can't wait for later!" she said, leaning up and kissing his cheek before turning around for the final time.


	5. Chapter 5

At exactly 7:15, Zoe's door bell rang. She opened the door and Wade was standing there holding a bunch of tulips.

"Woah," he breathed when he saw her.

"What?" she asked self consciously. She ran her hands over her dress, thinking maybe something so tight and short was a bad idea.

"You look…" he swallowed hard. "There are no words." She went bright red and smiled at him.

"Thanks," she gushed. "You look great!" He was wearing a dark blue dress shirt and jeans.

"I uh… wasn' sure if jeans were appropriate but it's all I've got," he mumbled, embarrassed.

"No, you're perfect." Her eyes widened at the words out of her mouth. "I mean your outfit is perfect. For the restaurant. I mean… yeah," she rambled. He chuckled lightly.

"These are for you," he said, handing her the flowers.

"My favourite! Thank you! Let me put them in water then we can get going," she said, pressing them to her nose.

"So we're takin' a cab. I know it's just a few blocks but," he pointed to the crutch that he had to use. She nodded and stepped into the hallway. They walked towards the elevator and Wade guided her, putting his hand on the small of her back.

"Good evening, table for 2?" the maitre d' asked when they walked into the restaurant. Zoe was about to say yes when Wade spoke.

"Actually, we have a reservation. Kinsella." Zoe looked up at him, impressed.

"Right this way, sir." They followed the maitre d' to the table.

"This is my favorite spot!" Zoe said. The maitre d' tried to pull Zoe's chair out for her but Wade stepped in and did it instead. The table had the best view of the city.

"I know, I requested your usual table. Wasn' easy bein' last minute and all but figured you came here enough from the way you spoke about this place that they'd know who you are." Wade sat down so that Zoe was on his right side. They ordered a bottle of wine and looked at the menus.

"What should I try?" Wade asked, overwhelmed by all the options. The Rammer Jammer's menu was very limited and on this one, he could barely pronounce any of the words.

"You have to get the sweet corn risotto! Oh but the scallops are also really good!"

"I don' know what either of those things are," he said frowning. She giggled and thought about how cute he looked in that moment.

"How about you get the risotto and I get the scallops and we can trade if you prefer mine?"

"Sounds good, Doc," he said with a smile. They chatted and laughed until the food arrived. Wade looked down at his risotto and pulled a face.

"Is there a problem Sir?" the server asked.

"No, no. Not at all. Thank you," Wade said and Zoe stifled a laugh.

"What's wrong with it?" Zoe asked after the server walked away.

"It looks like goo," he whined. Zoe rolled her eyes and laughed, shoving his shoulder lightly.

"Try it!" He gave her an uneasy look and put a forkful into his mouth. She watched in amusement as he chewed and swallowed then took a big gulp of wine, shaking his head.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad!" She took his fork and scooped up some risotto and put it in her mouth, closing her eyes with enjoyment.

"You really don't like that?" she asked. "It's so delicious!" He shook his head.

"Ok then try this," she said, putting a scallop on her fork, holding it out for him. He sighed and looked at her. She looked so excited that he couldn't not give into her. He opened his mouth reluctantly and she put the fork in his mouth.

"Not as bad as the goo but still not my kind of food." She signalled for the server to come over.

"Can we get this wrapped up?" she asked.

"Certainly ma'am," she server said, taking the plates before Wade could object.

"Why'd you do that?" he asked as she downed the last bit of wine in her glass. The server came back with the food and the check.

"Because I want you to enjoy our date as much as I am!"

"I am enjoyin' it Doc. The food ain' gonna make me not like bein' with you." She smiled at him and flushed slightly. He pulled out his credit card to pay for the meal. Once he had paid, they got up and left the restaurant.

"I know this great pizza place just 2 blocks away," she said as she lifted her arm to hail a cab. He put his hand on her shoulder and pulled her arm down.

"Let's walk," he stated.

"You sure you can?" she asked looking at his leg.

"Lead the way," he said, taking her hand. He laced his fingers with hers and they strolled along the sidewalk.

"So now that I've tried all your fancy New York food, you gotta come to Bluebell and see what food should taste like!" he said, taking a bite of his pizza slice.

"I can't wait! I'm looking forward to seeing the famous Bluebell in person!"

"I'm lookin' forward to that too, Doc," he said with a shy smirk, reaching over the table and squeezing her hand. He opened his mouth to speak and Zoe knew what he was going to say. She squeezed his hand back and shook her head.

"Please can we not talk about it tonight, I don't wanna think about you leaving just yet. Please can we just enjoy this?" He nodded, tracing small circles on the palm of her hand with his thumb.

"I don't want this night to end," Zoe whispered as they stepped out of the restaurant.

"We don' gotta be done jus' yet. Where else can we go?" he asked, turning towards her.

"Let's go to Central Park!" she said excitedly, hailing a cab. They walked into the park and found a bench over looking one of the ponds. Wade flung his arm across the back and Zoe put her head on his shoulder.

"This has been the best firs' date I've ever been on. Heck, I'd probably say it's the best date period," Wade said after a while. She giggled shyly.

"I agree!" she said nodding. He turned and kissed her head. She smiled and picked her head up, looking at him intently. Taking a deep breath, she leaned in and pressed her lips to his. Wade responded immediately, moving the hand that was on the bench to around her waist and moving his other hand to her cheek. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he pulled her flush against him. He slowly ran his tongue across her bottom lip and she opened her mouth allowing him access. They pulled apart when air was necessary and Wade pressed his forehead against hers. He smiled at her and gave her a gentle peck.

"That was…" she breathed.

"Amazin'" he finished for her. He kissed her again and when they pulled apart, her lips were slightly swollen. He ran his thumb along her bottom lip, finally resting his hand on her cheek.

"I really like you, Zoe," he whispered.

"I really like you too. And it sucks because you're leaving in 4 days," she responded, voice trembling slightly.

"Thought we weren' gonna talk about it tonight?"

"We aren't. I'm just saying it sucks because I finally meet someone I have real feelings for and have these amazing two months getting to know him and then he leaves right after things finally take a turn." She looked down at her hands and saw him take both her hands in his. She looked up and met his gaze, waiting for him to speak. He sighed instead.

"I'm sorry," he said lamely after a long silence.

"That's all you're gonna say?" she said, getting annoyed.

"There's nothin' more I can say." She rolled her eyes and pulled her hands away from him.

"What do you want me to say Zoe? That I've never felt this way about anyone before? That I'm glad I broke my leg cause it led me to you? That even though tonight was our firs' date I've had these feelin's for you pretty much from week one and they've just been gettin' stronger? All that is true. But me sayin' it isn' gonna change the fact that I'm goin' back to Bluebell and that every time I think about it, I feel sick." She kissed him when he finished speaking.

Wade and Zoe walked out of the elevator hand in hand and headed towards her apartment door. She unlocked her door and they stood staring into each other's eyes, neither speaking. He leaned down and kissed her gently.

"Good night Doc. I had the best time," he said, pulling away.

"Can you stay with me tonight?" Zoe asked shyly. "I don't want to say good bye until I have to," she added. He nodded, kissed her nose and walked into her apartment, pulling her in with him. She made them coffee and they sat snuggled up on the couch. Zoe stifled a yawn and Wade stood up.

"Go to bed," he instructed. She nodded and stood up, walking to the bedroom. Wade sat back down on the couch, ready to make himself comfortable for the night.

"You coming?" she asked, walking back to him. She grabbed his hand and he stood up slowly. She led him to the bedroom. She went into the bathroom and returned about 10 minutes later, make up off and dressed in a tank top and shorts. He walked over to her and kissed her.

"You look beautiful," he said after pulling away and walked into the bathroom. When he came out, he was wearing his boxers and joined her in bed. She snuggled into his chest and they fell asleep not long after.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning, Wade opened his eyes to see Zoe pacing next to the bed, talking on the phone.

"No, I'm sick. I've been up all night… Yeah… Throwing up… I don't think for a few days… Ok thank you." Wade sat up as she was talking on the phone, giving her a worried look.

"Are you sick? Why didn' you wake me?" he asked, his voice low and thick with sleep.

"I'm not sick," Zoe said, sitting on the bed.

"But I heard you on the phone."

"I told the hospital I was sick but I'm not."

"Why?"

"Because you leave in 4 days," she said, sitting back down on the bed.

"You called in sick for me?"

"Of course I did!" He smiled at her holding out his hand. She took it and he pulled her down to his level.

"Come here," he whispered and she leaned in, kissing him slowly. After a few minutes, she pulled away and lay with her head on his chest, listening to his heart beat go from fast to slow.

"I'm starving!" Wade said eventually.

"Ok, well there's this café at the end of the street that has the best food displays but I've never had time to go there," Zoe said, sitting up.

"Why don' we just make somethin'?" Wade asked, kissing the inside of her wrist.

"We can but we'll have to go to the store first."

"Why? Don' you have eggs or any sort of breakfast food here?"

"Um… no. I have milk and coffee. Oh and the leftovers from last night." Wade made a face at that.

"Where's your food?"

"I uh… I can't cook," she said, looking down, clearly embarrassed. He laughed loudly and she gave him a look.

"You serious?" She nodded. "Ok then, the store it is." He climbed out of the bed and made his way to the bathroom.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey Tucker," Wade called walking into George's apartment that evening. He and Zoe had spent the day back at her place cuddling on her couch. George walked out of the kitchen to greet him.

"Your date must have gone well," George stated.

"Yeah, it did. Hands down the best date I've ever been on."

"It must have been if you're only coming home almost 24 hours later." Wade gave a satisfied grin, walking into the kitchen. He grabbed an apple and bit into it. "You get lucky?" Wade rolled his eyes.

"Firs' of all, I ain' gonna treat Zoe like that. She isn' that kinda girl and means too much to me and second of all, I can't do anythin' with my leg still like this."

"So where is she tonight?"

"I'm just showerin' and gettin' a change of clothes then we're goin' to movies."

"You staying over at her tonight again?" Wade nodded.

"Have you talked about what you're gonna do once you leave?"

"Nah, we're kinda avoidin' it. We've jus' told each other how we feel and yeah, I guess we'll see how it goes. It feels weird though."

"In what way?"

"I don' wanna leave her and we've been on one date. It's jus' weird how into this I am."

"It's been one date but you've pretty much seen her every day for the past two months."

"I guess," Wade mumbled.

"You think she feels the same way?"

"Yeah, I do." He ran his hand through his hair out of frustration. "I don' know what to do Tucker."

"I've never seen you like this over anyone before," George said, worriedly looking at his friend.

"That's cause I've never felt this way before." George could see the turmoil on Wade's face.

"You'll figure it out. Long distance sucks but it CAN work." Wade gave him an apprehensive look.

"How can long distance work after one date?"

"Well by the time you leave, it'll be 4 dates." Wade scowled at him and George gave him an apologetic smile. "Besides, you said yourself it's way more than just one date." Wade nodded, rubbing his temples.

"I better get ready." He got up and walked to the guest room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"What's up with you today?" Zoe asked, snapping Wade out of his daze.

"Sorry, I'm just a bit stressed," he replied, giving her a tired smile.

"About?"

"It's the 1st today," he stated simply. She wrapped her arms around his waist, looking up at him.

"I thought you spoke to Lavon about helping with him?"

"Yeah, I did but I don' know. This is the third month I haven' been there and Lavon has managed to stop him from gettin' on that roof so far but if he can't and I'm not there to sing him down…"

"Hey. Nothing is going to happen. You wouldn't be able to get up on that roof in your condition anyway. You're going back in tomorrow; you can go straight from the airport to see him. Why don't you give him a call?"

"He probably won' even know it's me callin'"

"Don't say that Wade. You're his son, of course he'll know." Wade kissed her quickly then pulled out his phone, walking into the bedroom to call his father. About 15 minutes later, Wade came out of the bedroom and walked back into the kitchen. Zoe was sitting on the counter, eating peanut butter from the jar.

"How was it?" she asked, spoon in her mouth.

"He seemed ok, said Lavon was hangin' at his place."

"He's a good friend." He nodded and rubbed the back of this neck.

"Peanut butter?" she asked, holding out the spoon. He walked towards her, standing in between her legs and took the spoon. "Do you feel better now that you've spoken to him?"

"Yeah, he actually sounded reasonably sober," he said putting the spoon into his mouth. She wrapped her arms around his neck and ran her hands through his hair. He put the spoon on the counter and moved his hands to her hips.

"I can't wait to meet Lavon. He sounds like such a great friend. And your dad."

"You wanna meet my dad?" Wade asked, shocked.

"Of course I do! Why wouldn't I?"

"Cause he's a drunk," he replied.

"So? He's important to you which means I want to meet him." He gave her a small smile and pressed his lips against hers. Things quickly heated up and Wade ran his hands up her back and into her hair. He moved his mouth to her neck and she suppressed a moan. She shifted slightly and moved closer to the edge of the counter, lifting his chin and meeting his lips again. He suddenly jumped back, tears in his eyes.

"What?"

"You… Your foot…" He squeezed his eyes shut. She looked at him confused but then realized what happened.

"Oh Wade, I am so so sorry!" He nodded, eyes still shut. She jumped off the counter and led him to the couch. He lay down and she knelt down on the floor next to him.

"Are you ok?" she asked, holding his hand. He nodded again, meeting her gaze. She stood up and examined his leg where she had kicked him. Even though it had been 2 months since his surgery, he was still at least 2 months away from being completely pain free.

"I'm sorry," she said again.

"It's ok Doc," he said, cupping her cheek. "You're amazin', you know that?" She laughed.

"I'm amazing because I kicked your broken leg?" He rolled his eyes.

"No, Goofball! You're amazin' cause you wanna meet my dad and you've been there for me these past 2 months and jus' cause you're you." She gave him a sad smile.

"I'm going to miss you," she stated. He sat up and pulled her onto the couch. He wrapped his arm around her.

"Me too, Zoe. I hate that I'm leavin' tomorrow."

"I guess now's the time to talk about where things are going." She sat back and turned to face him, folding her legs under her.

"You know how much I care for you, Zo," he started, taking both her hands, lacing their fingers together. "The thought of not seein' you every day... I don' wanna even think about it but can we really ever make this work when we're so far apart?" She looked down and bit her lip, eyes welling up. She shook her head slowly.

"You have a few months left on your residency but then you're gonna get that fellowship and become a supersonic space surgeon. I can never leave Bluebell permanently."

"So this is goodbye for good?" she murmured.

"I wish it didn' have to be like this," he whispered.

"Me too. But I get it... Let's just... remember these past few days for what they were and tomorrow, we say goodbye and try move on with our lives. And maybe one day..."

"Maybe one day..." he echoed. They looked into each other's eyes and Wade caught a single tear that rolled down her cheek with his thumb. "And it's not for good; you still have to try what real food tastes like!" She laughed through her tears which were now flowing freely. He kissed her gently and when they pulled apart, they pressed their foreheads together.

"I HATE that it has to be this way," he said.

"I do too but there isn't another way. I promise you though, one day I'll visit and try all the food and see Bluebell and meet your dad and Lavon and all the other crazy town's people you've talked about." He gave her a grateful smile, sighed deeply and pulled her into a hug.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

George, Wade and Zoe were standing in the airport in front of where Wade would be walking through security. Wade had his arm around Zoe and a duffle bag on his other shoulder.

"Well, thanks for everythin' GT. Sorry I've been kinda... occupied these last few days," Wade said.

"I'll see you back in Bluebell soon," George said, shaking Wade's hand and patting him on the shoulder. Wade turned to Zoe and put his bag down. She wrapped his arms around his waist and leaned against his chest. She looked up and he leant down, kissing her passionately.

"I'm gonna give you a minute," George said awkwardly, looking at the couple. They didn't hear him and he stepped away.

"I'm so glad I met you," she said wiping the tears from her cheeks. He kissed her again, for longer this time.

"Thanks for the best two months I've ever had. Broken leg and all," he breathed once he pulled away. She kissed him, clinging onto his shirt and pulling him as close as he could get.

"I better go." She nodded sadly and they kissed one last time.

"Is it ok if I call you sometime?" he asked, picking up his duffle bag and crutch. She nodded again and he smiled, turning to walk away.

George joined her once he was standing in the security line. Wade looked back when he was near the front of the line where he would get his ticket scanned. She ran towards him and pushed her way through the people. She kissed him once more, leaving both of them breathless when they pulled away.

"Sir?" the security guard said, forcing Wade and Zoe to look away from each other. Wade kissed her quickly then gave the man his ticket. Zoe walked back to George.

"You know, Bluebell is a great place to live," George said as they walked out of the airport.

"Oh yeah, then why are you here?" she retorted.

"I am going back in a month. This was never permanent. Bluebell is home, even for people who don't think they could ever enjoy the small town life," he replied, giving her a pointed look. She avoided his gaze. "I'm just saying."


	7. Chapter 7

"Wade Kinsella." Wade looked up from his phone and saw a blonde girl leaning over the bar. He stood up from the stool her was sitting on.

"What can I get for you Carrie?" Wade asked, putting his phone in his pocket.

"I heard you were back in town. Poor baby being in hospital for so long. Thought we could play doctor," she said seductively, rubbing his arm. He pulled his arm away.

"No thanks," Wade said simply, rolling his eyes and walking to the other end of the bar to help a new customer. Carrie stared at him and stormed off after not getting another look from him. Once he helped the patron, he walked back to his stool, sitting down and pulling out his phone.

**_Sorry, had to help customers. I'm so over this day! _**he typed quickly and sent it to Zoe. A minute later he got a reply.

_It's ok, had to check on a patient anyway. Already? It's only 11 and your first day back!_

**_I'd rather be with you_**_..._

_Awww, you're so sweet. I have a 7 hour surgery soon. Zzzzz_

**_Thought you'd like somethin like that?_**

_Yeah but that's a long time of no texting_

**_Someone particular you wanna be txtin?_**

_No one you know, just this guy who got hit by a cab a couple months back. _

**_He sounds awesome!_**

_Nah, he's kinda boring:P_

**_Oh yeah? So why you txtin him then?_**

_Well he's kinda cute..._

**_I don't think I like this guy ;)_**

_Oh you'd love him... I have to go get ready for that surgery. Chat later x_

That night after work, Wade made his way to Lavon's place to play video games. The Rammer Jammer hadn't been busy and Wally let him leave early.

"Man, what is going on?" Lavon asked throwing the game controller down. Lavon had been firing at Wade's avatar for ages and Wade wasn't fighting back. He turned to look at Wade to see him texting.

"Wade!" he said again and Wade looked up.

"Huh?"

"What are you doing? This has been the most boring game of Halo of all time!" Wade put his phone down and picked up his controller again.

"Sorry, I'll pay attention," he said sheepishly.

"Who are you texting?"

"No one!" Lavon gave him a look telling him he didn't believe him.

"Fine, Zoe if you must know."

"I thought you guys decided to not try long distance?"

"We're not. We're just talking every once in a while." Lavon jumped up and grabbed the phone before Wade could stop him. He scrolled through the messages, his mouth falling open.

"Are these all from today? You said once in a while!"

"There are not that many!" Wade insisted, trying to grab the phone.

"Not that many? There are at least 200 messages JUST from today! Oh man, you're in deep."

"We're just friends, we decided that we weren' gonna try this whole long distance thing so we aren'. Don' mean we can't talk now and then."

"I miss you. Wish I was there. New York doesn't feel the same without you," Lavon read some of the messages, using a girly voice.

"Shut up! Give me my phone," Wade said but Lavon held the phone out of his reach.

"Oh Zoe, my life is nothing without you. I love you," Lavon said typing.

"You better not send that!" Lavon laughed.

"Relax, Lavon Hayes wouldn't do that to his best friend." Lavon moved to hand him the phone and pulled his hand away just before Wade took it and laughed. His laughter stopped suddenly and he looked at Wade with wide eyes.

"Uh oh."

"Uh oh what? What did you do Lavon?"

"I may have accidentally sent it..."

"What? Tell me you're lyin'!" Lavon shook his head. "You're damn lucky I can't run cause I am ready to kill you!" Wade shouted.

"I am so sorry! I really didn't mean to! Just tell her it was me." Wade's phoned beeped and Lavon handed it to him.

_What? _it read. Wade quickly sent back a reply explaining what happened and apologized and breathed a sigh of relief when she responded that it was ok, she figured it must have been something like that.

"So you really doing the whole friends thing?" Lavon asked after a while.

"Yeah, no other option really," Wade sighed.

"So as her friend, you'd be ok with her dating other guys?" Wade swallowed hard.

"Uh... yeah... sure. She can date whoever she wants," he answered, trying to sound casual but his voice came out high and squeaky. Lavon patted him on the back sympathetically.

"You know I'm not saying she will date someone right?"

"I know. But it's inevitable that it'll happen eventually." Wade put his head in his hands and sighed again. "You were right."

"Right about what?" Lavon asked, confused.

"I am in way too deep." Lavon squeezed his shoulder and shook his head, feeling incredibly sorry for his long time friend.

The next 3 weeks continued in similar fashion. Wade and Zoe were constantly messaging each other whenever they had a spare moment. At first, girls tried flirting with him at the bar but he either ignored them or turned them down, going back to his phone as soon as he shot them down. Eventually, no one bothered to get his attention. Zoe went back to spending most of her time at the hospital with her residency ending in 2 months. She was waiting to hear about a cardiothoracic fellowship that she applied for and wanted to get as many hours in as possible to make a good impression.

"Welcome back Tucker," Wade said as George entered the Rammer Jammer one afternoon.

"Thanks Wade. It's good to be home. I brought you something," George said as he reached the bar, putting down a big box on the counter. Wade gave him a questioning look.

"What's this?"

"Don't know, it's from Zoe," George shrugged.

"You uh... spent time with Zoe?" Wade asked, balling his hands into fists on the counter of the bar but trying to keep his voice level, jealousy searing through him.

"We spoke a couple of times but she just dropped this off this morning before I left," George responded, not noticing Wade's demeanour.

"You spoke to her a few times? What the hell Tucker! You think after I left you could just zone in? What about Lemon?" Wade spat.

"Woah woah calm down man. We spoke TWICE and both times were about you. She asked if she could drop something off for you before I left and then she asked when would be the best time to come over," George explained, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Oh. Sorry," Wade apologized, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "I'll be in the back." Wade walked into the back room with the box George gave him. Inside was a box of her favourite black and white cookies, a box of bagels from Paymer's and a book in which there were recipes pasted in for sweet corn risotto and scallops. He recognised a few other names of things from the menu at Per Se. He chuckled, pulling out his phone.

"Hello?" her voice answered after a few rings.

"Thanks for the gift, Doc," he said sitting down.

"You're welcome. I expect those dishes on the menu when I come visit," she joked.

"Yeah sure and I'm Gordon Ramsay."

"You know who Gordon Ramsay is?" He could hear the surprise in her voice.

"What'd you think I did all day in the hospital when I wasn' bein' bugged by a tiny brunette doctor?"

"You mean you didn't lie around all day wishing I was there?" she responded with mock offense.

"Course I did but when I took a break from that, I watched his show," he laughed, putting his feet up on the desk. She giggled lightly. He heard a sudden rush of noise on the other end of the line.

"Um... a whole bunch of people were just rushed into the ER. I gotta go. I'll call you later," she said hanging up, not bothering to wait for him to say goodbye. Wade sighed and stood up to go back to work.

Zoe had been in surgery for multiple hours after the emergency. She got home at 5am after operating all night and was looking forward to a day filled with sleep. When she walked into her apartment, she remembered she had promised to call Wade later but never did. Not thinking about the time, she dialled his number.

"Yeah?" his groggy voice said on the other end of the line.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" she asked lying on her bed.

"Who is this?"

"Zoe."

"Oh hey Doc," he said clearing his throat. "Why are you calling at..." he paused, "4 in the morning?"

"Oops, I completely blanked out on the time difference and I've been up for like 36 hours so I didn't think about the time."

"It's ok. Is everythin' alright?" She smiled at his accent which seemed thicker than usual.

"Yeah, surgery ran till about an hour ago and I just wanted to make good on my promise of calling you back yesterday. I'll let you get back to sleep."

"No, wait. I'm up now, I wanna talk to you."

"Ok good cause I was enjoying our phone call yesterday. I can't believe we waited a month to call each other."

"Well who could spare a moment with all the textin'?" he teased.

"True," she laughed. "I like hearing your voice though, even when you're sleepy."

"I like hearin' yours too. Especially at 4 in the mornin'"

"Are you being sarcastic?"

"No, it's definitely my favourite way to be woken up." She smiled into the phone and was about to speak before he spoke again. "Actually, I take that back."

"You take it back?"

"Yeah, wakin' up with you in my arms was much better."

"You sure know how to make a girl blush, Wade Kinsella."

"Jus' speakin' the truth Doc."

They stayed on the phone for about another hour, both fighting to stay awake. Eventually, they both fell asleep, phones still pressed to their ears.


	8. Chapter 8

"Hey! You caught me at a really bad time," Zoe said fumbling with her phone while hopping around her apartment trying to find her other shoe.

"Oh ok, sorry. I'll speak to you later?" Wade asked, leaning against the bar.

"I'm actually going out with..." She screamed and Wade heard a thump.

"Are you ok?" he asked, worried.

"Yeah, I tripped but I found my shoe!" she responded triumphantly, slipping it onto her foot.

"So you were sayin' somethin' before you fell on your butt," he reminded her, laughing.

"I'm going out with my friend Gigi to a bar so I don't think I'll get a chance to talk to you later. I'm so excited! Not working this weekend and it's been months since I've had a decent night out."

"Well have fun and be safe. Take two Tylenol before bed and drink a glass of water; it'll help with the hangover. Text me tomorrow."

"Ok Dad!" she teased.

"I like it when you call me daddy," he said. She could practically hear his smirk.

"Ew, gross Wade!" He laughed loudly. "I gotta go," she said once his laughter died down.

"Bye Doc. And I'm serious about the Tylenol, you'll thank me in the mornin'"

Zoe and Gigi arrived at the Sky Room and made their way to the bar. Within 5 minutes, two guys from the other end of the bar sent drinks their way. Gigi dragged her to their table and they introduced themselves as Logan and David. A few hours and copious amounts of cocktails later, Zoe was feeling more than a bit drunk.

"You know the park is really great this time of night," Logan said, leaning into to whisper in Zoe's ear.

"Oh my gosh, Wade and I went to the park when he was here. It was amazing." Logan rolled his eyes.

"I bet I could make it more amazing this time." He winked at her and put his hand on her leg. She pushed his hand away and took a sip of her drink.

"Not possible. Wade was..."

"Zoe!" Gigi interrupted.

"What?"

"Would you stop talking about Wade? Logan is hot and into you! But you are losing you chance here!" she whispered angrily and pointed at Logan who was checking some girl out as she walked past.

"Oooh," Zoe said loudly, jumping up startling Gigi. "I'm going to call Wade!" She grabbed her purse and drink and walked towards the exit, stumbling slightly at the door.

"Well hello Doc, didn' expect to hear from you," Wade drawled on the other end of line.

"Waaaaaaaadddddddddddddeeeeeeeeeee," Zoe exclaimed.

"Havin' fun?" he laughed.

"So much fun! There are these yummy drinks, they are so yummy! They're blue and sweet and yummy!"

"Would you describe these drinks as yummy?" he teased.

"Oh Wade, you're so funny. Have you always been this funny?" she giggled.

"Seem to get a bit funnier after you've had a couple drinks." She giggled again. "So how's Gigi?"

"She's been talking to this guy Dean or Dave or something all night."

"So you been sittin' alone drinkin'? That's kinda sad Doc."

"Noooo silly! I've been talking to Logan. The one buying the yummy drinks!"

"Oh, I wasn' expectin' you..." Wade stopped talking when he heard Zoe curse.

"Oops," she said.

"And now?"

"Almost spilled my drink. But don't panic, I saved it!"

"Phew, was about to call 911, tell them we had a drink emergency," he chuckled.

"You have such a sexy laugh, Wade."

"Uh thanks Doc."

"No really! It's so sexy, makes me wanna do very bad things to you."

"Zoe..."

"What? It's not like I never thought about having sex with you."

"Alright Princess, I think you've had enough alcohol," he responded with a laugh.

"You've had enough alcohol," she retorted childishly. He laughed loudly.

"Zoe! There you are!" Wade heard a girl's voice shout.

"Gigi!" Zoe said enthusiastically.

"Come back into the bar. The guys want to go back to David's apartment." Wade frowned hearing that.

"But I'm talking to Wade."

"I am sick of you always going on about that guy! He's all you've spoken about ALL night." Wade smiled on the other end of the phone. "You're lucky Logan is still interested in you!" Wade frowned again. Zoe rolled her eyes and downed her drink.

"I'm going home Gigi. Enjoy David. And Logan, if that's your thing," Zoe said, pressing the phone back to her ear. "I'm going home now Wade," she repeated.

"I heard Doc. Also heard how I'm all you've spoken about tonight," he said as she got into a cab.

"Yeah, you're fun to talk about," she replied, slurring slightly.

"Oh is that so?" he asked flirtatiously.

"Yes! You're hot and a really good kisser and hot!"

"I think I like drunk Zoe."

"I think I like drunk Wade."

"I'm not drunk Doc," he laughed.

"Me either!"

" Yeah, sure you're not," he laughed again.

"I better go, coming up to my apartment now."

"Ok Doc. Thanks for the call. Remember the Tylenol!"

"I'll get right on it. Night Wade. Miss you," she said before hanging up. Wade leaned back against the couch, smiling at his phone before heading to bed.

XXX

Wade was leaning across the bar staring at George and Lemon being all lovey dovey and it made him feel sick. It was a new feeling because normally when he saw them act like that, he was disgusted by their behaviour but now he felt jealous. He wished he could be doing that with someone but it wasn't possible because that someone was on the other end of the country. When Lemon laughed and nuzzled into George's neck, Wade threw the rag he was holding onto the counter and stormed into the back room.

"Are you ok?" Wanda asked, walking into the room.

"Yeah, jus' needed a minute," he responded, eyes closed out of frustration.

"Why don't you head home for the night, I'll close up." He gave her a grateful smile and left the bar. When he got home, he grabbed a beer from the fridge and sat on the couch. He hadn't heard from Zoe at all that night and he was irritated that he cared so much. The old Wade Kinsella never would have cared if he had heard from a girl or not. The old Wade would have been bringing a different girl back to his place every night, have some fun and then the next day never call them again. Nowadays, he didn't give 2 seconds of attention to any girl and his mind was constantly filled with thoughts of Zoe. He found himself wondering throughout the day what she was doing when they weren't texting. He had tried all night to not text her because he didn't want to seem desperate or too attached but giving in and not caring how he looked now, he pulled out his phone and typed a message.

**_Got off work early! Woo hoo! _**He got a reply almost immediately.

_Lucky you! Big plans for tonight?_

**_Oh yeah, me, a couple beers and video games_**

_Sounds like the perfect evening_

**_Only if you were here..._**

_:$ You always know exactly what to say to make me smile_

They texted for another 15 minutes before Wade asked what she was up to.

_I'm on a date_

Her response made his stomach churn. He knew they had agreed not to try long distance and he knew it was going to happen eventually, he just never thought he would end up basically being a third wheel. She probably felt sorry for him sitting alone at home on a Friday night which was why she was texting him back. His disappointment quickly turned to anger. He knew they agreed to stay friends and not do long distance but it felt like they were a couple to him. They were constantly flirting and talking on the phone, he never looked at another girl because he felt like he was cheating and here she was, on a date.

**_What the hell Zoe?_** He typed back in anger.

_What?_

**_You. On a date._**

_I am not having this fight now. Have a good night._

Wade looked down at her reply and threw his phone across the room.

Zoe put her phone back in her purse and looked up at her date. She had met him at a coffee shop outside of the hospital the day before and when he asked her out, she didn't want to say yes because she kept thinking that it was like cheating on Wade. The more she thought about it, the more she realised that she would have to get over Wade eventually. Like he said the day before he left, they are just too far apart and it could never make it work so she accepted the date. She wasn't enjoying it at all, he was boring and they had no chemistry. Her phone beeping signalling a text message from Wade was the most excited she felt all night. She completely ignored the poor guy while she was texting Wade back for almost 20 minutes.

"Look Joel, I think I better go. Thanks for dinner," she said standing up. He nodded and she left the restaurant.

Half an hour later, Wade was well onto his 4th beer when he heard his phone ring. He scrambled around the room looking for it.

"Hello?" he answered, finally finding it.

"You wanted this," she whispered, her voice trembling.

"Zoe..." he started.

"No. You listen. YOU were the one that first came up with the idea of not doing long distance, of staying friends. You had NO right to get mad at me for going on a date. What did you expect Wade? That I just sit home every night pining for you? That is not fair. I felt so guilty going on this date tonight, like... like I was betraying you or something and I spent 20 minutes texting you, completely ignoring the guy. You say you don't want long distance but get mad at me for trying to live my life," she yelled. "I like you Wade, I really really like you but I cannot do this anymore."

"What do you mean you cannot do this anymore?"

"You and me. Talking all the time. It's too hard."

"Zoe, please..."

"No Wade. It feels like we are in a relationship but we aren't and I can't keep doing this in limbo thing."

"Then let's do this. Let's do long distance," he begged.

"And see each other when Wade? I find out about my fellowship in 3 days. When I get it, I will have even less time than I have now."

"Doc," he sighed.

"What?"

"I can't not talk to you. Please."

"Wade," she sobbed. "I..." she couldn't finish her sentence. The tears were streaming down her face.

"You don' want this. I know it."

"There isn't another way."

"That's bullshit and you know it!"

"Wade, please. It's easier this way."

"Whatever Zoe. Have a nice life." He hung up. He hung his head and ran his hands through his hair. He tried to sleep but kept tossing and turning, thinking about Zoe but he knew he couldn't fix it. She wanted to cut him off to make it easier to live their lives and he had to respect that.

5 days later, Wade was sitting behind the bar drinking straight out of a bottle of bourbon. Lemon walked into the bar and straight up to him.

"Let me guess, Zoe Hart?" she asked, sitting down at a stool.

"Your powers of deduction never cease to amaze me Lemon," he answered, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"What'd you do this time?"

"Me? I didn' do anythin'. We had a fight and it escalated and she told me she couldn' keep talkin' to me so here I am, not talkin' to her.

"Have you tried fixing it?"

"Nope," he said, taking another swig of his drink.

"Why?"

"Cause she don' want anythin' to do with me. Said it was easier if we don' talk to move on with our lives. Said we'd never work, we live too far apart."

"Didn't you use that as an excuse when you left?"

"I don't remember tellin' you that." She shrugged and he continued, "But yeah, it's the truth. Doesn' make the not movin' on part any easier though."

"But you weren't even dating, it can't be that difficult." Wade gave her a pointed look. "Ok ok, just trying to help you see the bright side."

"Yeah... not helpin' but thanks," he said forlorn.

"Do you love her?" He didn't answer and brought the bottle to his lips but Lemon took it from him before he managed to take another sip.

"Pull yourself together. And get a haircut, you look like a hermit." She left the bar and Wade rested his head in his hands.

That night, the bar was pretty empty so Wade decided to close earlier than usual. He was finally alone and was busy stacking chairs, making sure everything was sorted for Chester who was opening the next morning. He heard the bell at the entrance chime, indicating that someone just walked into the bar.

"We're closed," he huffed, not bothering to turn around to see who it was.

"Hey Cowboy." He turned around.

"Zoe."


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's note: So in case you get confused, this chapter picks up from after the phone call with Zoe and Wade in the last chapter but it will show Zoe's side of things. Hope it makes sense!**

Zoe hung up the phone and lay down on her bed, hugging her pillow. Within a matter of minutes, the pillow was soaked through with tears. After a while, she pulled out her phone and opened her messages and clicked on Wade's name and scrolled through their messages. She stopped every once in a while to read one. A small smile crept onto her face when she read "By cooking you mean dialing the Chinese takeout place?" as his response to her telling him she was cooking dinner. Her heart clenched when she read "I'm jealous of every guy who gets to see you in person in that dress tonight." He sent that after she had sent him a picture of her outfit for a gala event she had attended the previous week. She exited her messages and opened his name on her contact list. She scrolled to the delete option and her finger hovered over the button for a while. She looked at the picture next to his name; him pulling a funny face that he had sent her when they first started texting and exited his name without deleting. She locked her phone and pulled the comforter over her, tears flowing again as she thought about him.

Zoe got to the hospital an hour earlier than usual on that Monday. She wanted to make one last good impression on the Head of Cardio but she also hadn't slept much since her and Wade stopped speaking. She kept wondering if she had made the right decision by cutting him off and missed talking to him. She spent all weekend in bed eating takeout and watching sad movies, pretending that they were the reason she was crying. Once rounds were over, she was walking towards the coffee cart when Dr Burke, the Head of Cardio approached her.

"Dr Hart, do you have a moment?'' he said seriously.

"Of course, Dr Burke," she responded and followed him to his office.

"I'm sorry to inform you that we will not be offering you the fellowship position," he said bluntly, getting to the point. Zoe's face fell and her stomach clenched. She felt like she was going to throw up.

"But... I'm the best Cardio resident," she whispered, trying to keep her voice steady. "I already did a solo Coronary Bypass.

"Surgery is not just about skill. You have the best hands I've seen in 30 years but it is also about bedside manner and quite frankly, you have been lacking according to all the attendants you have worked with. The only one who praised your bedside manner was Dr Powell from Orthopaedics and he said it was specifically only one patient from a few months ago, a young gentleman who got hit by a cab and broke his femur." Zoe bit the side of her cheek, willing herself not to cry. He continued, "Dr Powell had reason to believe your bedside manner was only different with that patient because you had formed some sort of personal relationship with him and the nurses in the PT ward confirmed his suspicions when I approached them about it. They said you visited him every day while he was getting PT. Is that true?" Zoe gulped and nodded her head slightly. He frowned at her.

"What can I do? Please, I'll do anything," she begged.

"There isn't anything you can do unfortunately. Not only is your bedside manner lacking but you have been distracted these last few months, constantly on your phone." She hung her head and stifled a sob. "I'm sorry Dr Hart. But ask yourself, is this what you really want?"

"Yes! It is! I've wanted this since I was 9 years old."

"Are you sure? When you first entered the programme, you were determined and feisty. And while your bedside manner was lacking, you made up for it in passion. I took it into account and disregarded your flaws in patient care. But even I have noticed that passion dwindling over the past 5 months." Zoe opened her mouth to speak but instead shook her head. "I wish you the best in all your future endeavours Dr Hart," he finished, standing and sticking out his hand to shake hers.

Once she left the office, she pulled out her phone and quickly scrolled to the name she was looking for and pressed call.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Dad?"

"Hello Bug! Did you hear about the fellowship yet?"

"Daddy..." she sobbed.

"Oh Zoe. I'll meet you at your apartment in an hour and we can talk about it, ok?"

"Are you sure? I know you have that triple bypass scheduled for later."

"Don't be silly, you are more important. I will ask Dr Martins to do it. I'll see you soon."

An hour later, Zoe was sitting on her couch with a cup of coffee while her dad paced her apartment.

"I can create a fellowship position for you at Columbia? I can fire someone from the programme. Mount Sinai will realise what they let go when they see you're at Columbia."

"Dad, I don't want you to do any special favours for me."

"I got offered a surgical position in Boston. I'll tell them I'll take it on condition that they sign you too." Zoe sighed loudly. "No, Zoe, we'll find you something. We can make this work. Just tell me what you want and I'll make it happen." She started crying uncontrollably and put her cup on the coffee table before sobbing into her hands. Her dad sat down next to her and embraced her in a hug.

"It's such a mess. My whole life has fallen apart in a matter of days."

"We'll find you another fellowship. It will take one phone call, I promise, your life hasn't fallen apart."

"Dad..."

"What's really going on Bug?" he asked as he ran soothing circles on her back. She didn't say anything. "Is this about the patient that Dr Burke was talking about?" Zoe nodded into his shoulder.

"Want to tell me what happened?" Zoe sat up and told her dad the whole story while he listened intently. When she was done he rubbed his chin.

"I'm disappointed," he started. She interrupted.

"I know, I am so sorry. I know falling for a patient is the worst thing you can do but I didn't plan..." he cut her off.

"Let me finish Bug. I'm disappointed that my baby girl finally fell in love but that he lives half way across the country."

"I didn't fall in love Dad," she said without much fight.

"Zoe, there is no point in lying to me. You speak about him with the same fire that you used to speak about surgery. Something I haven't seen from you in a while. Why did you push him away?"

"It's too hard. He is so far away."

"He doesn't need to be..." he replied tentatively.

"He will never move to New York. His home is Bluebell and his dad and... It just would never happen."

"And you? What's keeping you here? From what I understand you pushed him away because you would be too busy with your fellowship and long distance wouldn't work but now, that's not something you need to worry about. Do you still want to be a surgeon?"

"I guess I still want to do surgery, I honestly don't know Dad. These past few months have got me thinking. But that doesn't matter, the point is I can't just move to a town I've never even been to for a guy who for all I know might want nothing to do with me."

"You keep telling yourself that. I better get going, can't miss the next surgery. Dr Martins can handle a triple bypass but this next one is a bit more complicated. I love you and just think about what I said." He kissed her head and left the apartment. She made herself another cup of coffee and started thinking about everything going on in her life.

XXX

Zoe wheeled her suitcase across the gravel, cursing herself for choosing to wear heels. Finally, leaving her suitcase at the entrance, she pushed the door open, hearing a bell chime as she did.

"We're closed," she heard him say. He was standing with his back to her, putting a chair on top of a table. She smiled seeing him standing without the support of a crutch and clearly having his full strength back. She took a deep breath.

"Hey Cowboy," she said. She saw his shoulders tense and he turned around.

"Zoe," he said, his eyes wide and mouth slightly open.

"Hi," she breathed.

"What are you doin' here?" Wade asked, not quite believing that she was standing in front of him.

"I had this sudden urge to try grits," she replied with a small smile.

"Only you would think grits would be served in the middle of the night," he said with a laugh. She let out a breath and her smile widened. "What are you really doin' here?"

"I didn't get the fellowship," she admitted.

"Oh Zoe, I'm so sorry." Wade walked towards her and drew her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around his waist and relaxed for the first time since their fight. He pressed his nose into her hair, smelling her sweet shampoo.

"I don't want to be a surgeon anymore," she confessed when she pulled away from him.

"What do you mean?"

"The hours are too long and it's just... not what I want any more. I want to be a doctor but I don't think I can take the working 48 hour shifts, basically living in the hospital. You helped me see that. Before I met you, I never thought there was a possibility other than surgery. Surgery was my life but you showed me that there is more to life than a job."

"You sure this isn' a coping mechanism? To help you deal with the news?" She shook her head.

"The fellowship isn't the only reason I'm here. I also missed you and my dad was coming up with all these ideas of how and where I could get a fellowship and all I could think about was how I wanted to see you and be with you." She met his gaze and he had a strange look on his face that she couldn't place. She started panicking that she had made a mistake showing up. "I mean... not be with you just... here, in Bluebell. Where you are and other people are. So I guess I would be with you in a sense cause you know, you'd be here and I'd be here. I just realised how this must look. I'm such an idiot. I cannot believe I just thought I could move to Bluebell and you'd want me. I'm gonna..." she started walking backwards towards the door. "Go, I guess I'll find a hotel or something. If you could just point me in the direction of the nearest one, I'll find my way and..." she stumbled when she walked into a chair. Her face went bright red and Wade started walking towards her, the look still on his face.

She stopped when her back hit a wall and Wade took one large step, closing the distance between them. Without hesitation, he put his hand on her cheek and leant down, capturing her lips with his own. She put her hands on his arms and he snaked his other hand around her waist, pulling her close. Zoe moved her hands to behind his neck and parted her lips slightly, allowing his tongue access. The kiss was intimate and slow and when they pulled apart, he rested his forehead against hers.

"You moved to Bluebell?" he whispered.

"Is that too much?" she asked, worried. Instead of answering her, he kissed her again.

"Not at all," he breathed when he eventually pulled away but leaving his arms still wrapped around her, holding her close.

"I mean I'm not expecting to live with you or anything, I'll find my own place. But I figured I'd see what's so great about this town. And I promised I would try all the Southern food and I wanted to meet Lavon and your dad. But if it's too much then I'll just stay for a visit."

"Doc," Wade said firmly.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up," he said with a smirk. He kissed her quickly and said "It's," he kissed her again but this time on her cheek, "not," on her other cheek, "too", on her nose, "much," on her jaw line, "it's," on the lips, "amazing." She giggled and he kissed her once more on the lips for longer this time.

"I guess I should finish cleanin' up here and then we'll go, I'm exhausted. Haven't been sleepin' much since well... you know..." he said sheepishly.

" I'm sorry about what I said on the phone, Wade. I shouldn't have just yelled at you like that."

"Water off a duck's back Doc. You're here now and that's all that matters," he smiled at her. She leaned up and kissed him again. After a while, they pulled apart and stared into each other's eyes.

"I really gotta get finished, stop distractin' me girl." Zoe smiled as he let her go and walked to finish stacking the chairs.

When they got back to the gate house, Wade brought in her luggage and left it at the door.

"It's not much but we'll talk to Lavon tomorrow about letting you stay in the carriage house or somethin', if that's what you want. I wouldn't mind if you stayed here. I don't plan on spendin' many nights without you anyway," he winked at her.

"Let's take it one step at a time, Cowboy. Imagine you realise after a week you can't stand being around me and then we're stuck living together in a house with one room," she teased.

"Hey! It's two rooms," he said feigning offense.

"Ok ok, one room and a bathroom."

"Thank you for acknowledging that," he joked. "But in all honestly, I would never get sick of you bein' around. But I completely understand. Living together is a bit drastic." Zoe nodded.

"So how's your leg doing? You seem completely healed?" Zoe asked.

"Yeah, great doctor you are, only asking me like 2 hours later!" he mocked.

"Well... I wasn't asking as your doctor but let's pretend that was the reason," she said flirtatiously, running her hand slowly up his arm.

"My my Dr Hart. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were tryna seduce me."

"Well I must have not been clear then because I was definitely trying and hoping to succeed," she smirked. Wade let out a low growl in the back of his throat.

"I am so happy I'm all healed!" he said, more to himself than her. He kissed her passionately and didn't waste time removing her jacket. Zoe moaned into his mouth as he ran his hands through her hair and he took that opportunity to slide his tongue into her mouth. She moved her hands to the hem of his shirt and pulled it off over his head, their lips parting for a few seconds before finding each other again. While backing her towards the direction of the bed, Wade kicked his shoes off while her hands frantically worked on getting his belt off. Not looking where he was going, he accidentally walked her into the coffee table and she mumbled an "ow" into his mouth.

"Oh screw it," Wade said frustrated and picked Zoe up and threw her over his shoulder. He smacked her butt as he walked towards the bed and she was laughing uncontrollably.

"Watch your head, we're going in," he said as he threw her down onto the bed and climbed on top of her, straddling her. Zoe's hair was fanned out onto his sheet and she was smiling broadly. She moved her hands to undo the button on his jeans as he leaned down and kissed her neck, smiling and laughing as he did so.

"That was so worth the wait!" Zoe said falling back onto the bed, catching her breath.

"Definitely!" Wade agreed, equally out of breath, turning on his side and propping himself up on his elbow. He smiled down at her as she ran her hand through his hair making it stick up in the front.

"Your after sex hair is sexy," she commented as she sat herself up on her elbows and he laughed. He leaned over and gave her a soft kiss before lying back.

"Damn Doc, you tired me out."

"What, no fourth round?" she teased, sticking her tongue out.

"Don' tempt me!" he quipped back. She giggled and lay on his chest, listening to his heart beat. He pulled her close and they drifted off to sleep.


	10. Chapter 10

Wade opened his eyes and looked down at Zoe who had her head on his chest and he arms wrapped around his abdomen. He traced patterns on her back and smiled at the thought that she was in his bed, in Bluebell.

"That tickles," she mumbled, her eyes staying shut.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" he asked with a smirk as she opened her eyes and looked up at him.

"Yes," she said, shifting so that she was half on top of him. "But it's ok," she added with a smile and leant up and kissed him quickly. He tried to deepen the kiss but she pulled away, got out of bed and put his shirt on.

"What you gettin' dressed for Doc?"

"I need coffee to wake up properly," she replied.

"I can think of another way to wake you up good and proper," he said with a wink, climbing out of bed and wrapping his arms around her.

"As tempting as that sounds, I want to meet Lavon and have some of those pastries you told me about," she said, hugging him and resting her head on his chest.

"Ok, I'm only agreein' cause you look so damn fine wearin' my shirt."

They walked hand in hand to Lavon's house and Wade opened the door for her, letting her in first. Lavon was standing looking into the fridge and didn't look up when they walked in.

"Wade, I made pancakes so Lavon Hayes thinks today is the perfect day to stop moping around over Zoe. Otherwise no pancakes for you. Sick of you walking around looking like someone killed your puppy," he said as he heard the door open but still had not looked up from the fridge. Zoe looked up at Wade and gave him a knowing look with a smirk and he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. He cleared his throat and Lavon looked up and his eyes widened.

"Oh, you have company. Good for you, it's about time. I'm Lavon Hayes, and you are...?"

"Lavon, this is Zoe," Wade said and Zoe smiled.

"Zoe? As in... Zoe?" Lavon spluttered.

"Yup, that's me," Zoe said with a laugh.

"Well, it is nice to meet you. So how did this happen?" Lavon asked as he motioned for them to sit down. He put pancakes on their plates and waited for one of them to speak.

"That's actually what we wanted to talk to you about. You think Zoe can move into the carriage house?" Wade asked with his mouth full.

"Sure but why? What happened to New York?"

"Oh, I didn't get the fellowship and I missed Wade so I figured I'd give Bluebell a try," Zoe said nonchalantly.

"Well Bluebell is happy to have you. Wade has been so grumpy and whiny. 'Why does she have to be in New York? Life is not fair.'" Lavon mocked. Zoe gave Wade a loving smile.

"Yeah well at least I kicked your butt in video games every time," Wade defended.

"Oh yeah? When was that? When you were too busy texting her or when you were too busy staring at your phone waiting for her reply?" Wade looked down and blushed.

"I wasn' that bad," Wade mumbled. Lavon scoffed.

"I think it's sweet," Zoe stated. "I was pretty much the same back in New York." Wade beamed at her and leaned over his plate to kiss her. Lavon coughed but the couple didn't pull away. He picked up a buttermilk muffin and threw it at them, hitting Wade in the face, who glared at him.

"Getting back to business, you'll share a generator with Wade so if you have your, uh, curling iron going while he's got his AC on it could be trouble."

"We'll just create our own electricity, right Doc?" Wade said with a smirk. Zoe rolled her eyes and Lavon scowled.

"I've been here 5 minutes and I'm already having to apologise for my boyfriend's behaviour!" Zoe complained.

"Lavon's used to it. Right?" Wade responded.

"Unfortunately I am. So boyfriend huh?" Lavon asked, noticing Zoe look down embarrassed at what she said.

"Yup, I'm her boyfriend!" Wade answered for her with a big smile on his face, reaching over and taking her hand. Lavon sat silently and watched the couple interact for the rest of breakfast, noting them glancing at each other and smiling as they looked at each other.

"Thank you for breakfast Lavon," Zoe said putting her plate in the sink.

"You're welcome. I'll check out the carriage house this morning, make sure everything is set."

"Thank you. You sure I'm not putting you out?"

"Definitely not! Besides, I'm just happy I don't have to have Mr Grumpy over here ruining breakfast with his moping anymore!" Zoe laughed and looked at Wade who was frowning.

"Ha ha, very funny Lavon!" Wade said, taking Zoe's hand and leading her out of the kitchen.

"So what are we doing today?" Zoe asked when they got into the gate house.

"I figured we'd get you acquainted with the town and then... come back here and get reacquainted with each other." He smirked at her. "Or you know, vice versa."

"Definitely vice versa," she responded.

"Come here," he said as he kissed her. Their hands started roaming immediately and within a matter of minutes, they were both down to their underwear. He picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his hips as he walked towards the bed. He climbed on top of her once he lay her down on the bed and kissed her neck. Zoe threw her head back and moaned loudly as he ground his hips against hers. She could feel he wanted more and wrapped her legs around his hips and flipped them so she was on top. She kissed his chest while his hands found the clasp on her bra. Removing her bra, his hands move to her chest. Zoe shifted down and removed Wade's boxers and her own underwear. He reached over into his bedside table and pulled out a condom.

"Are you sure he'll be fine with us dropping in like this?" George asked as he and Lemon walked up the stairs to the gate house.

"Of course. He was really upset yesterday and I want to make sure he's ok," Lemon said, reaching the door. George opened the door and they walked in, stopping, eyes wide.

"Oh Wade," the girl who was straddling Wade moaned loudly. Her back was facing them. Wade pulled her down to him and kissed her moaning himself as he ran his hands up her back and into her hair.

"Oh my God," Lemon squealed. Wade sat up with the girl and she buried her face in his neck.

"What the hell Lemon!" Wade yelled, straining to reach his comforter to cover himself and the girl.

"Wade, we are so sorry," George said, blushing. The girl turned slightly to look at them, face still buried in his neck.

"Zoe?" Lemon asked, shocked.

"Hey Lemon. Hey George," Zoe mumbled.

"What are you doing here?"

"What the hell does it look like she's doin'? Now get out!" Wade yelled. They didn't need to be told twice and ran out of the gate house. Zoe climbed off Wade and wrapped herself up in the comforter.

"I have never been so embarrassed in my life," Zoe whined.

"It's fine, they didn't see anythin'," Wade assured her.

"Didn't see anything? They saw me completely naked on top of you!"

"Well... it was just your back cause of the um... position." Zoe glared at him and he gave her an apologetic smile. "Ok, I'm sorry. Next time, I'll be on top," he teased and she smacked his arm.

"Ok, ok, no more jokes. How bout we get ready and I take you into town and we can start crossin' some of that Southern food off your bucket list?" Zoe nodded and headed to the bathroom to get ready.

XXX

Wade and Zoe strolled through Town Square holding hands as Wade pointed out the different stores and told her funny stories about him growing up or about the townspeople.

"I'll be right back, I'm goin' to get some of Agnes' sweet tea. A definite Southern staple," Wade told her when they got to the gazebo. He kissed her quickly and walked off across the square. Zoe sat down on the steps of the gazebo and looked around at the small town, taking everything in.

"Hey Pretty Lady," a man said as he stumbled towards her. He sat down next to her and she noticed how he reeked of gin.

"Hi," she said timidly.

"You new in town?" he questioned. "Haven' seen you around here before."

"Yeah, I arrived last night," Zoe replied with a smile.

"From?"

"I'm from New York. You're obviously a local?"

"What you do?" he said ignoring her question.

"I'm a doctor but at the moment I..."

"My son goes on and on about a doctor from New York," he cut her off.

"Oh, you're..." she started but was once again interrupted.

"Earl!" she heard Wade yell. They both turned to look in his direction to see that he was storming across the grass looking angry.

"There's my boy," Earl stood up and beamed, not noticing Wade's angry demeanour.

"What are you doin' Earl?" Wade said angrily when he reached them. Zoe could tell he was clearly embarrassed.

"We were just talking Wade," Zoe said, putting her hand on his arm. He turned to look at her and she gave him an encouraging smile.

"Oh you know my boy. Are you the doctor he's always talkin' about?"

"That'd be me," she said proudly, taking Wade's hand in hers. "Or well... at least I think it is cause otherwise this is awkward," she added winking at Wade.

"Yeah, uh... this is pretty awkward. See, I was talking about Dr Powell."

"Oh shut up," Zoe said with a laugh, shoving him with the hand that had been holding his.

"So is this your girlfriend?" Earl asked as he watched them flirt with each other.

"Yeah, she is," Wade said, putting his arm around Zoe. She leaned into him and rested her hand on his stomach. "Dad, this is Zoe. Zoe, this is my dad, Earl."

"It's great to finally meet you, I've heard a lot about you," Zoe said sticking out her hand.

"None of that," Earl said, shoeing her hand away. Instead, he took her arm and pulled her into a hug. Wade smiled at their interaction.

"Would you like to join us for some sweet tea?" Zoe offered once he had let her go.

"No no, I've got things to do. You two enjoy yourselves. See you around Pretty Lady, Son," Earl nodded and walked off.

"So uh... that's my dad," Wade said sheepishly.

"He was great," Zoe assured him. "So let's try this stuff then," she said, gesturing to the holder with the sweet teas. Wade sat on the gazebo steps handing her the drink as she sat down. She took a sip and pulled a face.

"Wow, that's sugary."

"It's not that sugary," Wade defended. Zoe looked at him and raised her eyebrow. "Well, not if you compare it to her grape lemonade or... a cup of sugar."

"Not really my cup of tea," Zoe joked.

"Oh you're so funny with the puns," Wade said bumping her shoulder with his. She rested her head on his shoulder and he flung his arm around her, pulling her close.


	11. Chapter 11

Wade opened his eyes and jumped, seeing Zoe's face an inch away from his. She was holding a flashlight and shining it into his eyes. He moved back and sat up in the bed.

"Dammit Zoe, what the hell."

"You were snoring," she stated simply.

"Yeah, and?"

"And you may have sleep apnoea," she said as she moved closer, holding up the flashlight again.

"Not again!" Wade moaned as he rubbed his eyes and backed away from her.

"Open up," she insisted.

"No. Yesterday you wanted to check me for Scoliosis, the day before was Dengue Fever. This is not healthy!"

"I know it's not healthy! That's why I need to check you out!"

"Not me, you!" he said as he tried to climb out of bed. She grabbed his hand and pulled him back.

"I'm worried about you! You don't have to be overweight to have sleep apnoea. You could have a deformed epiglottis," Zoe pouted. Wade rolled his eyes but opened his mouth to oblige her request. "Just what I suspected," she said after a while and turned off the flashlight, Wade closed his mouth.

"And what's that?"

"You don't have sleep apnoea."

"Shocker," Wade retorted with another eye roll. "You need to find work, Zo."

"I know," she said sadly. "But there are already 2 town doctors, how many more could they need?"

"Maybe look in Mobile or Filmore?" Wade suggested, lying back on the bed and wrapping his arms around her.

"I guess I could... I just wanted to work in Bluebell because this is your home."

"I know Babe and I appreciate you movin' your whole life here but it's been 3 weeks, you gotta work otherwise you're gonna diagnose me to death!"

"Ok ok, no more diagnosing. Although let me just take a quick look at your..."

"No!" Wade interrupted. She stuck her bottom lip out. "That face isn' gonna work on me! No more doctorin' unless I really need it."

"Urgh fine!" she conceded.

"Now, if you wanna play doctor, I'd be ok with that. Maybe I need mouth to mouth? Maybe I need a physical?" he suggested with a wink. Zoe perked up.

"The doctor will be right with you," she said in her sexiest voice possible making Wade smile widely. "Let me first get my stethoscope. Oh and my blood pressure cuff." Wade's eyes widened at that. "And I'll need my tongue depressors." Zoe jumped off the bed and ran around the carriage house looking for all her equipment. Wade watched his girlfriend run around and shook his head with a smile.

"Oooh, a reflex hammer could work!" she exclaimed still running around.

"You know you aren't giving me an actual physical, right?" he called from the bed.

"I want it to be as accurate as possible!" she yelled from the bathroom.

"It's very well thought out," he called back. "But your patient is in need of medical attention."

"The doctor is in," she said as she walked out of the bathroom wearing a sexy doctor costume. Wade's mouth fell open and he sat up in anticipation as she approached the bed.

XXX

Zoe walked out of the Hook, Line and Sinker after browsing for half an hour. She was bored out of her mind and had spent the past 2 weeks wondering in and out of every store in Bluebell on a daily basis just to keep herself busy. After Wade told her she needed to look for work, she had gone to the neighbouring towns but no one was hiring and she didn't want to hang around at the Rammer Jammer all day and be a clingy girlfriend even though she so desperately wanted company. She hung out with Lavon sometimes and she was slowly getting to know the Belles but she missed work and being busy.

"Hey Pretty Doctor," Earl said walking towards her.

"Hey Earl. It's good to see you," Zoe responded with a smile.

"I cut my finger the other day and I got this thing on my arm," he said, pulling up the sleeve of his plaid shirt. A long red line was running up his arm and Zoe grabbed his hand to examine it more closely.

"Oh Earl," she sighed. "Let's take you to see Dr Breeland."

"I'd rather cut off my arm than see that jerk Brick Breeland."

"Ok so let's go to Dr Wilkes."

"No way! You're family; I want you to look at it." Zoe sighed again but nodded, taking his hand and leading him in the direction of the plantation.

Once in the carriage house, Zoe found the antibiotics she was looking for in her medical bag and administered them after getting Earl settled in her bed.

"These are not the best antibiotics but they've all I've got. We could get stronger ones at the practice," she insisted.

"No. This'll be fine. I ain' going to no practice."

"You have blood poisoning, Earl. Do you understand what I am saying?"

"Of course I do. I know what poisoning is."

"It is making its way up your arm and if it reaches your heart you could..." she paused and took a breath. "You could die."

"Don' care."

"Earl, these antibiotics might not work. We need to get you to a hospital."

"Negative. I do not go to hospitals."

"Fine. You are as stubborn as your son." Earl just shrugged. "The poison is here," Zoe said, drawing a line on his arm. "I need to monitor it every 20 minutes for 8 hours. If it rises, I am taking you to the hospital, I don't care if you refuse. Got it?" Earl nodded and Zoe left the room to call Wade.

"Hey Doc. The bar is packed, I'll call you in a bit," Wade said exasperated on the other end of the phone.

"Wade, it's your dad. There's an emergency."

"Zoe, if this is your idea of tryin' to cure your boredom, it's not funny."

"I'm being serious Wade. He's here with me at my place. I need you here now."

"This better not be your way of gettin' me home," he said and Zoe noticed that he sounded scared.

"I wouldn't use your dad's health as a ploy Wade," she snapped back. "He's ok, I just... you need to come," she added calmly.

A few minutes later, Wade ran into the carriage house and stopped at the doorway when he saw his dad lying in the bed. He ran his hand over his chin and looked at Zoe with wide eyes.

"He has blood poisoning and is refusing to go anywhere. I gave him an antibiotic but I need to monitor him for the next 8 hours to see if the line rises above the mark I made," Zoe explained, getting up from the couch and walking towards him.

"What happens... what happens if he... if the..." Wade stuttered. Zoe took his hand and put her other hand on his cheek.

"He should be ok, I've seen this before and this treatment does work. I did the best I could with the antibiotics I had but we just need to stay positive." He just nodded and swallowed hard.

Wade watched Zoe move around the room as she checked on Earl every 20 minutes. When she wasn't checking on him, she was watching him intently, making notes in a notebook. When he asked if he could do anything, Zoe told him that she had everything under control and he could relax.

"Zo, what don't you let me do somethin'? I'm jus' sittin' here and you look exhausted. Tell me what to look for," Wade said, rubbing her shoulders. She sighed and nodded before explaining what he needed to do.

Zoe felt someone shaking her and she opened her eyes to find Wade on his haunches looking at her. She wiped the sleep from her eyes and sat up on the couch.

"How long have I been asleep for?" she asked groggily.

"Bout 5 and a half hours," Wade responded softly, moving a piece of hair that had fallen into her face to behind her ear. Zoe looked around and saw it was dark outside and jumped up.

"Why didn't you wake me? How's Earl? Oh my gosh, what kind of a doctor am I?" she panicked.

"Relax Doc. He's in the clear. The line has gone way down." They walked over to the bed where Earl was sleeping and Zoe saw that the line had receded to half of where it was when they started the observation.

"I'm so glad he's ok!" Zoe said, wrapping her arms around his waist for comfort. Wade wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

"Thank you for everythin' you did," Wade said.

"I didn't do much, I was asleep for most of the time," Zoe said disappointed in herself.

"Hey, none of that!" Wade responded letting her go and moving to stand in front of her. He put his hands on her shoulders. "You did more than anyone else woulda done for him and that is why I love you. Brick and Harley woulda just shipped him off to the hospital despite what he wanted."

"What did you just say?" Zoe asked, not sure she heard him properly. Wade looked confused as he thought back to his words and when he realised what he said, his eyes widened and he stepped back.

"I uh... I don'... I meant... you know... like... love in a... different way..." he stammered while running his hands through his hair. Zoe giggled and kissed him.

"I love you too," she said when she pulled away.

"Really?" Wade asked hopefully.

"Yeah, I know it's super soon but I think I've loved you since I first saw you lying unconscious in the ER." Wade laughed at her and pulled her into a hug.

"I can't say the same cause I was unconscious and all. But I think I knew I loved you the first mornin' you woke me up before rounds." Zoe smiled up at him and he leaned down and kissed her. The intensity increased within a matter of seconds as Wade pushed her up against the wall. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He moved his mouth to her neck and Zoe moaned loudly when he reached the spot under her ear. She opened her eyes for a brief second and saw Earl lying in the bed about 6 feet away. She had completely forgot that he was there after being swept up in the moment.

"Wade," Zoe said.

"Zoe," Wade moaned followed by a low growl, his kisses on her neck getting more urgent.

"Wade," Zoe said firmly, pushing him away slightly. He moaned again, moving back to her mouth.

"Would you stop!" Zoe urged, pushing him away properly. He pulled away and looked at her.

"What?" he asked, still holding her up against the wall.

"Your dad is like 6 feet away."

"So? We'll be quiet," he insisted, moving back to kiss her. Zoe smacked him away.

"Don't be gross!"

"We can go to my place," Wade suggested, tightening his hold on her and stepping away from the wall, walking towards the door.

"No! We are not leaving your sick dad alone so we can have sex!" Zoe whispered loudly. "Put me down!" She wiggled her legs trying to get herself free.

"He's fine now!" Wade said, smirking and shaking his head as he carried on walking to the door. He stopped at the door when he heard Earl groan. He turned them around and saw Earl starting to open his eyes. Wade rolled his eyes and put Zoe down and she ran to Earl's side to check on him. Giving up, Wade made himself comfortable on the couch while she worked.

The next morning, Zoe was sitting at the Butterstick having her daily buttermilk muffin when Brick and Harley walked in.

"Zoe," Brick said approaching her.

"Hi, Dr Breeland, Dr Wilkes," she greeted looking up.

"We heard what you did for Earl," Harley said. "Sounds like you did great work."

"Thank you," Zoe beamed up at them.

"Yes, excellent job. Most of the townspeople just ignore him," Brick added.

"Well, he's important to Wade which makes him important to me. Plus he's really sweet and deep down a really great guy," Zoe said with a smile. The doctors bid her farewell and walked to the counter. Zoe sat back and smiled to herself proudly.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note: So this is the final chapter. I've really enjoyed writing this story, I hope you've enjoyed reading it. I have a new story that's one chapter away from being done and I will probably put chapter one up tonight. I'm feeling nostalgic for Zoe and Wade and I love writing for them so I'm gonna keep going till I'm out of ideas.**

**Just to clarify, Harley was never Zoe's dad in this story. I like to think that if Ethan had never found out about Harley, they would have had a relationship like one I wrote a few chapters back. Thanks for reading, reviewing, faving and following!**

"Good news, Doc! Harley died!" Wade said as he walked into the gate house. Zoe looked up from her book.

"Wade! How is that good news? That's horrible!" Wade lifted Zoe's feet from the couch and sat down, letting her rest them on his legs.

"Because now you can work with Brick!" Wade said as he started rubbing her feet.

"I don't think he would want that. His partner JUST died," Zoe said apprehensively.

"So now havin' a new doctor can give him time to grieve, he won' have this huge patient load."

"Aren't you sad that Harley died? I thought he delivered you."

"Yeah, of course. He was a great man but it's been 2 months since you got here and I know you hate not workin'. I jus' wanna see you happy."

"I'm happy with you," Zoe assured him.

"I know but you need to work Baby. Time for other people to experience the joys of bein' diagnosed by you," Wade teased.

"Oh shush. I am not going to push it with Brick but I will try get my foot in the door without seeming like a vulture. I feel really bad about Harley, should I bake something for his family?" Wade looked at her and burst out laughing.

"Givin' them food poisoning jus' so Brick would need another set of hands isn' the best way to get your name on the door Doc!" Zoe leaned over and smacked his arm.

"You're not funny!"

"I am hilarious!" he argued. "Why don' you wait a coupla days then go see Brick, casually ask him if he needs a hand cause you're in town while you're lookin' for work elsewhere?"

"OK, good idea," Zoe said as she lay back on the couch.

XXX

Wade climbed up the step ladder and reached up to unscrew the light bulb that had been flickering above table 5 for the last 2 weeks. As he finished changing it, he lost his balance and fell to the floor. Wade landed on his shoulder and was struck by a blinding pain. He screamed and rolled over onto his back.

"Hey Wanda!" he called as loud as he could. Wanda walked out from the kitchen and ran to his side.

"Oh my God Wade. Are you ok?" she asked, kneeling down, looking at his arm.

"Uh yeah... can you call Zoe? My phone is behind the bar." Wade was clutching his arm and squeezed his eyes shut trying not to think about the pain.

"Hey Baby, I just bought you some of those pickles from the Dixie Stop you like," Zoe answered on the other end of the line.

"Hey Zoe, it's Wanda. Wade fell off the step ladder and his shoulder looks pretty messed up. Can you come by?"

"I'll be right there," she breathed and ran over to the bar.

"Wade!" Zoe said, running over to him.

"Hey Doc," he said, giving her a weak smile. His eyes were filled with tears. She knelt down and examined his shoulder.

"It's dislocated," she stated taking his other hand. "I need to reset it. But it's going to be painful so I need morphine. I don't have morphine though... Um..." Zoe said to herself.

"Doc, as amusin' as this is, I'm kinda in pain here so if you could make a decision quick, that'd be great."

"Ok, let's go to Brick," she decided and helped him sit up. She took of the plaid shirt he was wearing over his white wife beater and used it to stabilise his arm for the walk to the practice.

They walked into the practice and basically half of Bluebell was in there with what Zoe assumed was the flu from how they all looked. Brick stepped out of his office looking flustered.

"Dr Hart! I am so glad to see you. I need your help!" he pleaded, walking over to them. "There has been an outbreak of the flu and without Harley... I just... I can't do it alone."

"Of course. But Wade dislocated his shoulder and I need to reset it. Can I use some of your supplies? As soon as I'm done, I'll help." Brick nodded and let out a relieved breath. He pointed towards Harley's old office and the couple went in. Wade climbed onto the bed and lay back while Zoe undid the make shift sling. Brick brought in the morphine and proper sling and went back to the packed waiting room.

"Well I guess you owe me a thank you," Wade said as Zoe injected him with morphine. He winced. "A little bit of warnin' would be nice!"

"Sorry! And why would I be thanking you?"

"Cause if I didn' fall off that ladder, we never would have come in here and Brick never would have asked for help. So I think you need to show me some serious gratitude tonight, hmm?" Zoe laughed and shook her head.

"Morphine kicked in fast luckily. Don't think you'll be up for that tonight," she said placing one hand on his shoulder and the other on his arm.

"Why? I feel good now." Zoe looked at him and he smiled at her lovingly. She smiled back and pushed onto his shoulder and pulled his arm hard. A loud crack echoed through the room and Wade screamed, tears quickly forming in his eyes.

"It's better if you don't see it coming," she said, placing the sling over his head. Once she was done, she leaned over and kissed him softly. "I'm sorry I had to do that. I'm gonna call Lavon and ask him to come get you, ok?" He nodded and put his good hand around her neck, pulling her down onto his lips. He tried to deepen the kiss but she pulled away.

"Why do you always get frisky when you're on morphine?" she asked laughing.

"Have no idea what you're talkin' about Doc," he said putting his hand on her hip and moved it to her behind. She stepped away and pulled out her phone dialing Lavon's number.

Once Lavon fetched Wade, who kept trying to undress Zoe while they were alone, Zoe went to help Brick with the overflow of patients. At 7, the last patient left and Zoe slumped onto a chair in the waiting room.

"Thank you so much for your help today. Things have been so crazy these last 3 weeks," Brick said sitting down next to her.

"You're welcome, it feels so good to be working again. 3 months is a long time," she said.

"You know, I could use the extra help. I thought I could handle this practice alone but I see that that isn't the case. Would you maybe like to come on board as an associate?"

"I would be honoured, thank you," Zoe said. "You have no idea what this means to me," she added, getting choked up.

"The lengths you have gone to to be with Wade are admirable. The whole town can see a big change in him and you are responsible for that."

"He's the one that changed me, not the other way around," Zoe said with a smile.

"Trust me, he's a better man with you here. Speaking of, why don't you go home to him, see how he's doing. I'll see you tomorrow at 9 and we can work everything out." Zoe thanked him once again and left the practice, making her way back to the plantation.

XXX

"Give me my shoe," Zoe demanded as she stood on the one side of the couch.

"Give me a kiss," Wade retorted from the other end of the couch, holding said shoe.

"I don't have time for this! I have to get to work. I was late every day last week because of you!" Zoe whined.

"Give me a kiss and I'll let you go."

"You say that every day and then you drag me to bed!"

"Hey, that's not fair. One, you don' complain when it's happening! And two, it's not always the bed. Sometimes it's the couch or the floor or the table or the..."

"Ok ok, I get it! But Babe, I don't have time today. And neither do you. You're meeting the lady from the bank today." Wade pouted. "You will be fine. She'll love you and soon, the Rammer Jammer will be all yours! Now give me my shoe." Wade shook his head and laughed.

"Urgh fine. I'll get another pair," Zoe complained as she made her way to the closet. She came out with a new pair of shoes on and Wade was sulking on the couch.

"No fair!" he moaned.

"I love you but you need to get dressed and focus on the meeting!"

"Fine. But I need a good luck kiss first."

"That I can do. Don't get handsy though!"

"I can't promise anythin' Doc," he said with a wink. He stood up and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into him. She pulled away after a few minutes, breathless and her head fuzzy.

"Call me when the meeting is done," she breathed as she turned to walk away.

"Love you Doc," he said with a cheeky grin.

"Love you too," Zoe said as she walked away. "How did you get my bra undone?" she yelled from outside. Wade laughed.

"Hey, it's not my fault you don' know what's goin' on around you when we kiss. Actually, I guess it is," Wade called after her with a satisfied smirk.

"Good morning Dr Hart," Brick greeted as Zoe walked into the practice. "Old Man Jackson is here for his 6 month check up with his glasses that you prescribed him."

"Salutations Boss! Wow I can't believe it's been 6 months since my first patient in Bluebell!"

"You certainly have made a name for yourself in this town. I've never seen the townspeople accept someone new so quickly."

"Well, Wade has been a huge help with that. He's been so encouraging and supportive." Brick nodded and Zoe went to greet Old Man Jackson.

XXX

"Do the candles and roses mean we're celebrating?'' Zoe asked as she walked into the carriage house. Wade was lighting the last candle on the table and looked up, smiling at her. He walked over to her and greeted her with a kiss.

"We are celebratin' 6 months since your first official patient," he said when he pulled away.

"You remembered!" Zoe exclaimed, resting her hands on his chest briefly before wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Of course I did!"

"Is that all we're celebrating?"

"Don' know what you're talkin' about," Wade said with a smirk.

"The meeting! With the bank?"

"Oh yeah, that..." Wade smirked again.

"You going to tell me or not?"

"Mmm, let me think."

"No kisses for you until you tell me!" Zoe threatened as she removed her hands from his neck and stepped back. Wade grabbed her hand and pulled her into him. He pressed his forehead against hers.

"The Rammer Jammer will officially be mine as soon as I sign the papers." Zoe smiled and pressed her lips to his and rewrapped her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss.

"I'm so proud of you!" Zoe breathed as she pulled away, arms now at her side.

"I'm the proud one Doc, you changed your whole life without even a second thought."

"It meant being with you so of course I didn't give it a second thought!"

"You are the love of my life Zoe Hart," Wade said with a smile.

"Right back at you Cowboy," Zoe giggled. Wade gave her a light kiss.

"So I was uh... wonderin'..." Wade mused.

"Yeah?"

"What do you say we take the next step and move in together?" Wade asked, rubbing the back of his neck. Zoe jumped into his arms and pressed her lips against his while nodding.

"But you're coming to the carriage house!" Wade laughed and deepened the kiss.


End file.
